More Than Words
by Jewelgirl04
Summary: After undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, John Cena finds comfort in the words of a young woman he has never even met.
1. Chapter 1

Kate Jackson frowned as she looked at the latest reports on the World Wrestling Entertainment website.

On Monday nights, she'd sit on her bed and watch Monday Night RAW on the USA Network, but as of last night, the pain killers had taken their toll on her and she had passed out long before the clock had struck nine pm.

She figured that she really hadn't missed much in last night's episode. It would be Randy Orton attacking John Cena, John Cena trying to fight him off, and John being knocked out via an RKO from the Legend Killer. While most Cena fans decidedly hated this pattern, Kate didn't mind. Usually, this foreshadowed a win in the upcoming pay-per-view.

But from the looks of the website's headline, she'd never get to see that match.

"John Cena injured. Out six to twelve months," she read aloud and sighed, "Damn. And just when I had something to look forward to every Monday night."

Immediately, she reached for her cell phone beside her lap top, searching through her contact list to find her best friend. After finding her, she clicked the send button and waited for her ringback tone to cease.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered.

"Jules…" Kate whined and tucked a strand of light blonde hair behind her ear.

"Oh Christ," her best friend sighed and Kate could imagine her rolling her eyes at that very moment. "What is it _this_ time?"

"John's out for six months to a year!" she continued to pout and heard her best friend gasp on the other end.

"Aww, poor John. What did he do now?"

"Tore his pec," Kate stated simply.

"Ugh," Julia replied in disgust. "Look at the two of you. You can't go a day without killing yourselves. Seriously, I am beginning to think that you two really _are_ soulmates."

"Yeah…" Kate trailed off and glanced down at her knee, one week post-op and heavily wrapped in a fifteen pound knee brace complete with hinges and iron bars. "This sucks."

"I know, babe, I know," her friend empathized. "Listen, I'm coming home from West Chester in another few days, so we'll have plenty to talk about then, but I have to head to class. I'll give you a call later tonight, okay?"

"Oh, alright," Kate laughed and gave in. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, babe."

Kate clicked off of the phone and clicked on the _read more_ button on the website.

As she read further and further into the article, she noticed that there was an email address which fans and well-wishers of John could write to in order to send him notes of encouragement.

Her eyes lit up at the chance and then her common sense knocked her back down.

"Don't be an idiot, Kate," she shook her head at her own stupidity. "He's John freaking Cena. Why the hell would he want to hear from an eighteen year old high school student who has been sitting on her ass the last week?"

_I've got nothing better to do…_

She finally decided to give writing John a shot, as she had absolutely nothing to lose. If he read it and thought she was an idiot, it was fine. She'd never know it anyway.

With another swift click of her mouse, Kate had opened Microsoft Word and began typing away.

* * *

John Cena moaned as he accidentally rolled over on his arm, waking him from his already rough slumber.

It had been a three days since he'd had surgery on his pectoral muscle and if you called feeling as though someone was repeatedly raking a steak knife down your chest painful, you'd would certainly agree that it wasn't feeling any better.

It was now close to noon and he still hadn't gotten much sleep over the course of the last night. John was quite sure that little fact wasn't assisting the healing process either.

John struggled to roll out of bed without further injuring himself and after doing so, opened the laptop on the nightstand and sat back down on his bed. After checking his email account, he began to have the feeling like he had missed something.

"What the hell am I forgetting?" he asked himself out loud, turning his head to the side and placing a hand on his chin.

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"My _other_ email."

* * *

"Kate!" 

"Yeah, Mom?" Kate called back to her mother whom, judging by the distant sound of her voice, was likely downstairs.

"Your father is on the phone," she replied back loudly. "He wants to say hello."

"Is that all he wants to say?" she mumbled to herself and picked up the cordless phone resting on her nightstand. "Hello?"

"Hey, Princess," her father greeted her cheerily. "How you holding up?"

"Fine," she replied simply, not really feeling the need to explain her condition to her father.

"That's good," he added brightly. "It's absolutely sweltering in San Antonio, I must say. I hate the heat, you know that."

"You knew what you were doing when you left," she replied bitterly and her father began to catch on immediately to where the conversation was heading.

"Look, it's just two weeks, Katherine," her father addressed her by her full first name, with an exasperated tone, causing Kate to cringe in anger.

"Dad, I really don't want to hear it… I just don't, okay? I don't understand how your only daughter's knee surgery didn't take precedence over some stupid business trip!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Katherine," he scoffed at her and she could practically see his eyes rolling. "It's not like you haven't had this surgery before…"

"Wrong answer, Dad," she shook her head at his reply and bit her lip. "And by the way… it's Kate," she added and clicked off the phone. "Yeah, Dad. Way to care."

* * *

_Dear John,_

_From one gimp to another, I send my well-wishes. I understand what it's like to be deprived of the life you know and love, of the sport that's your passion, just because of an instantaneous decision._

_I tore my right ACL when I was fourteen and tore my left ACL this past June. It wasn't until September that I visited the doctor, as I wasn't in a lot of pain, or didn't feel the pain, anyway, and discovered this new injury. I actually had my surgery the week before you did._

_For the next week and a half, I will be sitting in my room at home, on the computer, watching TV, and not really doing anything productive with my life, aside from homework. I thought senior year would bring me little work and even less responsibility. Ha! Maybe I should have thought of that before I decided to take honors courses. Woops._

_Anyway, I just wanted to wish you good luck with your recovery and to tell you to push hard through your rehabilitation process. No matter how much sweat and blood you shed, in the end, you'll be thanking your body for a job well done. Trust me, I've gone through this crap twice. I know how it goes._

_Keep strong, Cena. I can't wait to see you back in the ring._

_Chain Gang is the Click,_

_Kate Jackson_

John smiled as he re-read the letter a second time.

Finally, there was a letter in this secondary inbox that didn't call him an obscene name, threaten to kill him, or qualify as pornography. In fact, Kate Jackson's letter was a welcome one.

She understood the pain that he was going through and was going through it herself… for the second time in her life.

"She's gotta be one tough cookie," John mused with a chuckle as he turned his gaze away from the screen.

But then his gaze returned to the glowing light of the laptop, almost as if it were a light bulb that had suddenly gone off in his head. A wry smile spread across her lips.

John was about to give her the surprise of a lifetime.

* * *

"Julia, I am serious!" Kate stated firmly. "I swear, it's him!" 

"Yeah, okaaaayy, Kate," Julia patronized her best friend and snorted. "What's his email address? John Cena at WWE dot com?"

"No! It's the one I wrote the email to!" she answered her excitedly, barely able to contain her anxiousness. "You know, the letter I told you about?"

"I know what you're talking about…" Julia replied, her voice crackling over Kate's cell phone, signaling she was still utilizing her speakerphone. "It's just highly unlikely, Kate. Forget that… impossible!"

"Maybe not…"

"Just open it, already!" her friend ordered her loudly.

"Oh, so now you believe me?" Kate arched an eyebrow.

"Well… what if, even though there's a slim to zero chance, you're right?"

Kate laughed as she clicked on the envelope icon, "You're such a fucking hypocrite, you know that… oh."

"What?" Julia asked her curiously. "What? What? What?"

"It's just a confirmation email, thanking me for writing," she sighed. "You were right."

"Thank you!" the older girl replied brightly as a loud chime graced both of the girls' ears simultaneously. "What was that?"

"Just another email," Kate shrugged and clicked on the _New Mail_ button, waiting for the page to reload. Finally, it flashed up on her screen. "Uh… that's odd."

"What's odd?"

"I got another email from the same email address, you know… John's email address," Kate replied, chewing on her fingernail, already short from her five years of playing guitar.

"A duplicate?" Julia offered.

"Yeah," the younger girl agreed with a nod. "That's what I was thinking."

"Well, just for the sake of knowing… open it."

"Right," Kate answered and opened the email from her inbox, immediately recognizing it was not even remotely the same. "Holy shit."

"What?" Julia asked her curiously, a hint of déjà vu creeping across her mind. "What is it?"

"It's him," she marveled, her jaw dropping dangerously close to her blanket-covered bed. "This time… it's really him."

Julia gasped and grabbed her keys off of her dresser, "I will be there in ten."

* * *

**A/N: I've been toying with this idea for a little over a month or so now and I decided I had to just go ahead and do it. Hopefully, you like this.**

**Leave me feedback, please! I want to know what you think!**

**Danielle**


	2. Chapter 2

Kate sat at her laptop, furiously tapping her fingers, and awaiting her best friend's arrival. The wait was absolutely torturous and she found herself constantly reaching for the left click button and then immediately snapping her hand back in shame.

She couldn't even share the good news with her mother, whom was at work until six, or her father, whom she didn't really care to share anything at all with anymore. There was always the notion of calling her mother at work or on her cell phone, but that would mean she'd actually have to _open_ the email.

God forbid she did that before Julia got there.

Suddenly, and without warning, the front door whipped open and slammed closed.

"I'm here!" Julia panted as she bounded up the stairs. "I'm here!" she continued to announce as she busted into Kate's bedroom.

Kate snickered slightly as she looked over her best friend who was completely out of breath, even though she had driven over from her house.

"You look like you just ran the marathon," she mused as Julia hunched over and placed her hands on her thighs. "What did you do? Run all the way here? Don't you have a car…?"

"Haha, very funny," she shot her a sarcastic smile. "Not all of us like to workout all of the time."

Kate frowned at her best friend, "Yeah, well… unlike you," she gestured at Julia, who was now at a size 5/6, despite the legacy of the "Freshman Fifteen," "I need it."

It wasn't that Kate wasn't attractive, but at one hundred and eighty pounds, she was far from drop dead gorgeous. Despite losing twenty pounds in the last year, her knee surgery had set her back quite a bit and she was finding it difficult to lose any weight while laid up for three months. Her blonde hair hung two inches above her waist and she had hazel eyes that sparkled both green and gold. Then again, it wasn't her face that she found fault in… it was just everything else.

"You're missing the point, Kay," Julia tried to distract her friend from her thoughts, "You have a super hot guy's email sitting in your inbox, practically screaming 'READ ME.' See the problem, here?"

Kate nodded; she did see the point.

"So open it!" Julia plopped down next to her on the bed and nudged her in the ribs.

"Right," Kate smiled and clicked on the email.

_Dear Kate,_

"Aww!" she beamed over at Julia. "He called me dear."

Her best friend rolled her eyes, "Just read the damn letter."

_Dear Kate,_

_Well, from one gimp to another, I thank you for your well-wishes. I really do appreciate all the support I've been receiving since I got injured, especially when it comes from a fan._

_I'm sorry that you got injured in June; that really sucks… big time, especially considering that this is ACL number two. Look on the bright side: at least you don't have anymore ACL's to tear. How did you tear them, anyway?_

_Don't feel bad that you're going to be spending some quality time with your laptop and your television. I've come to realize that everyone's got to have a best friend during times like these, even if it is an inanimate object. As for the homework, at least you're trying in school. If I got a D senior year, I was more than cool with that. Congrats to you for still having an interest in school these days. What colleges do you plan on applying to… or have you already done that and not been a procrastinator like I was?_

_Thanks for the advice on rehabbing. I kind of figured that it's going to suck majorly, but it's good to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that your recovery is going excellent, as well. _

_You keep up the good work and keep me posted on your rehabilitation process. It's kind of nice to know that there's someone else out there who understands. _

_Hustle, loyalty, and respect,_

_John Cena_

"Did I ever mention that I absolutely despise you with every fabric of my being?" Julia smacked her best friend on the shoulder.

"For once," Kate stared open mouthed, and wide-eyed at the computer screen, "I think I'm actually alright with that."

"Yeah, me too," she replied with a happy shrug. "Congrats girl!"

"So…" the younger girl trailed off and managed to pry her eyes away from the computer screen to turn and look at her friend, "What now?"

"You click reply."

* * *

John finished his mug of coffee and placed it in the sink before heading into the television room. As he sat down on the black leather sofa, he couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of how right that girl Kate had been in her email.

_Rehab does suck… a lot._

It had been a week since he'd sent an email to her and he had yet to hear back. In a strange way, John looked forward to reading another email. Kate seemed like a pretty down to earth girl and an interesting individual. Her writing style came off as that of someone at least twice her age and compared to some of his friends, who were at least thirty years old, she seemed twice as intelligent.

John chewed on his lip for a moment and reached over to the coffee table, which where his laptop now lay, to place it on his lap. Moments later, the computer came online and he waited for his mail to load.

Once again, he found that his new email address was absolutely flooded with emails and as he attempted to scroll through them all, he found all he could do was squint and hope he recognized her email address. Soon, however, he realized that the feat could not be accomplished.

Then suddenly, it dawned on him. He had to call a person whom possessed technical savvy and there was only one person whom he could call.

Amy Dumas.

* * *

Kate Jackson adjusted her headphones in the passenger seat of her mom's Honda Odyssey as the sounds of Maroon 5 coursed through her ears.

For the last few days, including her entire physical therapy session, all she could think about was the email she had sent to John and how she hadn't heard back from him yet. She reread the email in her mind a million times, trying to figure out if she had said something wrong. Still, no answer came to mind.

"What are you thinking about, Kate?" her mother asked her randomly, pulling an earphone away from her ear as they rolled down Route 18.

"Nothing really," she shrugged and turned down the volume of her iPod as she placed the earpiece back on her left ear.

"Nothing… or no one?" Natalie Jackson questioned her daughter with a smirk.

"Alright… so maybe I'm thinking about him," Kate finally gave in with a sigh. "Is it really all that bad?"

"No, not at all, Kate," Natalie replied with a smile. "You're an eighteen year old girl. He's rich, famous, and good-looking. Not all that hard to put it together…"

"I know, but still…" she looked out the window and exhaled deeply. "Of all the letters, of all the girls in the world… John answered mine. That has to count for something, right?"

"It most certainly does!" her mother agreed and patted her thigh reassuringly. "I'm sure he's just busy right now. You'll probably be hearing from him soon."

Kate perked up, "You really think so?"

"I _really_ do."

* * *

"So you're telling me that all I have to do is find her initial email in my read mail box and then I can take that address and search for it in my new mail?" John asked and leaned back on the padding of his couch, still holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Yep," Amy replied proudly, "That's all you have to do."

John shook his head and laughed as he clicked away on his computer, "You are brilliant, you know that?"

"Oh, I know," Amy assured him. "I know."

He continued to laugh as he came across the email and extracted her address, "Copying and pasting…and now searching," he commented, giving his friend the play by play.

"What is this… a Celtics game?" she joined in on the laughter, referencing his hometown NBA team.

"Hey, my Celtics are gonna be great this year, just like my Sox… damn," John winced as he stared at the screen.

"What?"

"I…uh… I guess I never noticed that she sent me an email," he explained to her. "I mean, now I realize that it was because I didn't remember her address, but still, she sent it over a week ago."

"Uh, buddy?" Amy clicked her tongue. "I think you have an email to right."

"Yeah…" John trailed off and sucked in his breath through clenched teeth. "I'll talk to you later."

"Later," she replied and hung up the phone."

"Alright, Kate," he announced to no one in particular. "What do you have to say this time…?"

_Dear John,_

_I must say, I never expected to hear back from you, but I'm glad that I did. It's nice knowing that you're a pretty normal guy. Actually, you seem a little like you do on TV, just… down to earth._

_Well for starters, since you asked, I tore my ACL the first time when I was playing basketball in gym class. I faked right and went to drive left, but apparently, my knee did not feel like making the trip with me. This past June… well, I got tackled… in Ultimate Frisbee of all things, which is not a tackle sport, mind you. Oh, did I mention it was by a guy? Yeah… and he denies it._

_I must say, I feel a little better about my mental health now that you've told me that you consider your TV and your laptop to be your best friends at the moment, as well. Although, I don't really know if we should be happy about that. _

_School kind of sucks at the moment. I mean, I go back in another week and I'm absolutely dreading it. I'm actually kind of afraid that I've fallen incredibly behind. I don't know, I guess it's kind of pathetic that that's my fear, huh?_

_Then again, my fear is probably not getting into any college at all. I'm applying to Rutgers University, which is a likely candidate, since I'm a Jersey girl and it's close to home, Boston University, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, and George Washington University. I just pray that I get into one of those. Although, I'm not looking forward to seven years of college after I graduate next year. Ugh. Not exciting at all._

_My recovery is going okay. I mean, I'm running ahead of schedule, which is good, but I still need to be in this God-forsaken knee brace, which is heavy, itchy, and uncomfortable, not to mention I still need crutches. Just between you and me (and maybe my mom), I walk around my house without them. Shhh. Don't tell!_

_How've you been holding up? Any problems? I hope you're doing alright; I want you to come back to RAW so I have something to look forward to on Monday nights, besides Heroes. There I go again… me and my television. _

_Ever hear about the man that wanted to marry his dog? Well, I want to marry my television._

_Does that sound a bit strange?_

_Write back soon,_

_Kate_

John couldn't help but laugh out loud at her last comment, "No stranger than me writing back and forth with a girl I barely even know."

* * *

**A/N: I'm so excited that a lot of you are enjoying this story. It's a little more lighthearted than my other two stories, but it will have its conflict, don't worry.**

**A big thank you to: I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, dj-ssdd, rabbit, cassymae, JCEdgeRKO, goddessofthenite, and Amyvedamarie.**

**Keep those reviews coming!**

**Danielle**


	3. Chapter 3

"How was school, Kate?" her mother asked as she entered the kitchen, her backpack hanging from her back as she walked with her crutches.

"It sucked," Kate scoffed and dropped the pink and black bag to the ground.

"Why?" Natalie looked up from her magazine and cocked her head to the side. "Wasn't everyone happy to see you?"

"Well, yeah," she scrunched her nose, "But apparently, my teachers were so happy to see me, they gave me a bunch of makeup tests in celebration of my return."

"Come on, Kate, you knew it was coming."

"Still, it sucked," she whined and leaned forwards slightly on her crutches.

"Well, I bought a bag of your favorite honey mustard pretzels, will that cheer you up?" Natalie thrust the open bag forward towards her daughter. "Want some?"

"Nah," Kate shook her head and pivoted on her right leg. "It's ten times easier for me to gain weight right now. I want to look good for prom…"

"Sweetheart, it's only the first week of November," she assured her daughter. "You have plenty of time…"

"I'm just going to head upstairs and check my email, maybe play some guitar," she shook her head. "No pretzels for me."

"Need any help?" her mother offered.

"No, I'm alright. I don't even really need these…"

"Okay, well… call if you need anything," she smiled at her daughter and then turned back to her magazine.

Kate nodded and dropped her crutches before limping down the hallway. The ascent up the stairs was a tricky one, taken slowly and a foot at a time. She was used to just running up and down the stairs and was finding it difficult to take it slow. Even if she wanted to go at her old pace, however, chances were, her body wouldn't let her.

Arriving at the top, she took a quick left from the landing and then a sharp right, heading through the white door directly ahead of her. Her room was much cleaner than it had been that morning and the bed was now made, most likely care of her mother, who had taken the day off of work just in case.

She dropped her eggplant colored pocketbook on the floor beside her desk and plopped down into her swivel chair. Kate then slid out the plank that contained her mouse and keyboard and clicked on the flickering icon on her status bar in the right corner of her screen.

"You've got mail," the voice announced.

"No kidding," she rolled her eyes as she glanced at the screen, which read 45 new emails.

After clicking on the read mail button, Kate discovered that most of the emails were spam. There were three from facebook, one from myspace, one from Julia, and…

One from John.

A slow smile spread across her face as she clicked on the email and it opened up on her screen.

_Hey, Kate!_

_I am so sorry that it took me this long to write back, but I let my inbox get inundated with emails before I checked them. Then I forgot your email. I was just a mess, but luckily a good friend of mine helped be find your email address and I found this letter today. Just for the record, I was excited to read your email, so don't think I forgot about you, Kate. I didn't._

_I can't believe that some asshole, pardon my language, tackled you playing a stupid game of Frisbee in gym class. Seriously, I consider myself competitive, but I would never stoop to the level of injuring a girl. What a jackass. I hope you're suing his sorry ass. I don't care if he denies or it not, I would still take him to court._

_I can't believe that you watch Heroes! I've been hooked on that show as of late, especially now that I'm laid up. Did you hear that they're thinking of postponing the rest of the season because of the writer's guild strike?!? I don't even want to THINK about what that might do to my psyche._

_While it's not exactly…erm…normal to want to marry your television, everyone has a little crazy in them I guess. For you, it's the TV. For me, it's corresponding with a girl I barely even know and telling her anything and everything. I don't mind though… I look forward to your emails all day. _

_I guess that you're now back at school, since you wrote the letter a week ago. How's that going by the way? I know that I hated school, but looking at those colleges that you're applying to… damn girl! You're a freaking genius! You have NO reason to be worried whatsoever. I'm kind of biased for Boston, but my brother's girlfriend goes to Rutgers and she loves it, so… yeah. That's my two cents for ya._

_It's good to hear that your recovery is going well. I wish I could get rid of this damn sling once and for all. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get rid of it until January. That's a long ass time from now, but what am I gonna do? Oh… I swear I won't tell your doctor that you don't always use your crutches around the house, as long as you don't tell mine that I chill out around the house without my sling on. Deal? Good._

_All in all, I guess I'm holding up alright. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving… ah! The food! I'm getting excited just thinking about the insane amount of food on the table. See, you got me all excited?_

_Dr. Andrews says that I'm healing ahead of schedule, but it can't heal fast enough. The only real problem that I'm having is that I can't stand sleeping in the sling, but when I don't… my arm feels like it's being stabbed repeatedly. Any suggestions? I consider you my injury guru._

_By the way, I notice that you're emailing me from AOL. It'd be a lot easier on both of us if you emailed me on my personal account on AOL. That way, I could get your emails a lot quicker and write you back just as fast. My screen name is BostonCena423. I know, it's dorky… but it's the only thing I could think of at the time. Give me a break, I was young and stupid._

_Can't wait to hear back from you, Kate!_

_John_

Kate let out a quiet chuckle and leaned back in her chair.

"How can my life suck so much at be incredible at the same time?"

Almost instantaneously, a rectangle popped up on the screen, signaling a new instant message. Upon closer inspection, Kate realized that it was, in fact, her best friend, Julia, IM-ing her.

**KeyboardHearts: **So how was your first day back…?

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Three tests. How do you think it was?

**KeyboardHearts: **That sucks. Sorry to hear that, babe.

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **But the day isn't as bad anymore.

**BrooklynBlondeshell:** …

**KeyboardHearts: **You lucky whore.

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **What? What did I do now?

**KeyboardHearts: **He wrote you back.

**KeyboardHearts: **Didn't he?

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Maybe…

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Did you check your email yet?

**KeyboardHearts: **No. Why?

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Because I sent you a copy.

**KeyboardHearts: **I love you bestest friend.

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Mhmm. Now go read it, I'll be right back.

**KeyboardHearts: **Shit. You don't have to tell me twice.

* * *

"Oh mother…" she sang as she came to the top of the stairs. 

"You okay, Kate?" Natalie replied, her voice drawing closer to the stairs.

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm more than fine," Kate replied with a sly grin. "Guess who I got an email back from?"

"John Cena," Natalie dropped her head and laughed. "Do you know how many girls would kill to be you right now? God, if only Donny Osmond had answered all of my letters when I was your age…"

"Uh… Mom?" her daughter furrowed her eyebrows and stared at her.

"Right, right. Well," she sighed, "Anything else I can do for you, hun?"

"Just tell me what's up for dinner," the younger female suggested with a smile.

"I'm waiting for your father to come home and then we're going out to eat."

"Just wonderful," Kate scowled and returned back to her room, where a message from Julia was blinking repeatedly on the screen.

**KeyboardHearts: **He gave you his personal screen name?

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **He gave me his personal screen name.

**KeyboardHearts: **He gave you his personal screen name!

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **He gave me his personal screen name!

**KeyboardHearts: **He gave you his personal screen name!

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Julia! I think we've established that already.

**KeyboardHearts: **Are you going to write him back?

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Um… can I smack you through the computer screen?

**KeyboardHearts: **Uh, no.

**BrooklynBlondeshell: **Then don't ask stupid questions. I'm going to work on the email right now. I'll forward you a copy when I'm done.

**KeyboardHearts:** Hurry up.

**KeyboardHearts:** Better yet. Don't.

**KeyboardHearts:** Take your time.

**KeyboardHearts:** Wait…

**KeyboardHearts:** Nevermind.

Kate couldn't help but shake her head and roll her eyes.

**BrooklynBlondeshell:** Do I have your permission now.

**KeyboardHearts:** Yes. Now, write!

* * *

John sighed and turned over on the bed, dragging his arm along with him. This whole not sleeping thing just wasn't working out for him anymore. 

He couldn't sleep at night and he couldn't sleep during the day. He'd show up to physical therapy half-asleep, but could never take it any further at home. He'd come home a walking zombie, but would be in too much pain to stay asleep.

Giving up on sleep, John did the only thing that he could think of and took his laptop off of the nightstand. Maybe he'd find something productive to do on the computer.

Better yet, maybe he'd just check his email and see if Kate had written him back.

"Cena," John shook his head at his anxiousness and let out a deep sigh. "You're getting all worked up over nothing. You just sent her an email this afternoon. She does have a life."

But in his heart, he still held a slight hope that she had written him back.

True, it was risky giving this girl his AOL screen name, but something in his gut told him that he could trust her.

Sure enough, when the America Online voice told him he had mail, it was precisely the one he was looking for.

_Dear John,_

_I'm glad you didn't forget about me. I have to say, your emails are making my recovery a hell of a lot easier and more enjoyable. Seriously, I want to put you on my holiday card list just for that fact alone._

_And no, I can't sue him. I went to Europe for two weeks over the summer and didn't find out about the ACL until September. High pain tolerance, much? Apparently, being a future lawyer, I understand that this means it can't be proven that he initially caused the damage and therefore, I don't have a case. Sucks, no?_

_I'm so happy that I've found another Heroes addict. Although, if the permanent loss of new episodes this year occurs and your psyche is damaged, I don't even want to think about what it could do to me. By the way, congrats on the Sox winning the World Series. As a fellow Yankee-hater, due to the fact that I am a die-hard Mets fan, I am more than satisfied with the outcome._

_Good to hear that your pec is healing well. I used to have that same problem with my knee a little while back. Here's a good solution for you. Take a pillow…now for you, it might have to be a relatively large one. I mean, you're certainly taller than me, but… anyway… take a pillow and put your arm in the pillowcase. You'll find that you now have padding and will keep your arm elevated. It won't take the pain away completely, but it'll keep you more than comfortable. Let me know if it works for you._

_Honestly, I definitely look forward to your letters, as well. It's really exciting to hear from you about your daily routine. I think that throughout your career with the WWE, I never really looked at you as a person, only a superstar. It never really occurred to me that you were a regular person. _

_This whole correspondence is kind of bizarre when you think about it, though. Who would have figured that of all the letters you received, you would have read mine? And I certainly NEVER would have guessed that you'd write back. I'm glad you did though._

_Not to be a sob story, high school is kind of rough for me. Actually, school's always been rough for me. I'm not one of the skinny, popular girls. I don't have a lot of friends. I've just always been the smart girl that will always be the best friend and never the girlfriend. And it sucks._

_But you make me feel special just by writing me. You really don't know much a simple email has affected my life. This isn't a plea to keep you interested or anything like that; it's just a heartfelt thank you._

_Because you've kept me going and given me hope that with hard work and determination, I can change._

_So once again, thank you, John. For everything._

_Love always,_

_Kate_

John blinked again at the screen, trying to comprehend the last few paragraphs on the screen. Upon her first letter, Kate had seemed just like a regular, all-American girl, but now… it was different.

He wasn't one for drama, but strangely enough, he had no desire to bail on her. She seemed so incredibly special and wise beyond her years that he couldn't imagine anyone giving her a hard time at school. Perhaps it was why the boy who attacked her had denied it: he could get away with hurting her because no one cared enough.

A familiar anger coursed through John's veins, one that he hadn't felt since grade school when he was the one being picked on. No one chose what they looked like and it seemed that Kate was a victim of this cruel fate, as well. Unfortunately, a plane ride away, there was nothing he could do about it.

Only the WWE brought him to New Jersey when Raw came to the Continental Airlines Arena, recently renamed the Izod Center. As of the moment, he had no reason to go to New Jersey, but eventually he would.

And he made a mental note to look up Kate Jackson when he got there.

* * *

A knock on the door resonated throughout her room and Kate sat up from her bed, where she had previously been watching television. 

"Kate?" her mother's voice called to her from the other side of the door. "Can I talk to you?"

"Um… sure, Mom," her daughter replied warily and stood up before opening the door.

Natalie Jackson stood there, slightly paled and leaning on the door frame for support. A normally strong, vibrant woman, her appearance caught her daughter off guard.

"I've been putting this off for a few days now," the brunette informed her daughter as she walked past her and sat on the bed. "But I need to talk to you."

Kate sat beside her mother and looked over at her, "Is everything okay?"

"Kate," she addressed her, not really answering her prior question, "You know how Dad's been working late the last couple of nights?"

"He's working late AGAIN?!?" Kate's hazel eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Once again, her father was deserting them. "For God's sake…"

"Kate… no," Natalie shook her head. "Just stop for a second, okay?"

"Then what is it?"

"Your father… well," she sighed and her shoulders slumped noticeably, "I'm sure you've noticed he's been coming home well after you go to sleep and leaving well before you wake up."

"It is rather annoying," Kate nodded and scoffed. "He's such a pain in the ass…"

"Kate, don't you realize why?" Natalie asked her daughter, finally looking up at her for the first time since she'd walked through the door.

The blonde Jackson girl stared down at her blue Converse shoes, haphazardly hanging off of her bed. Truth be told, all she'd chalked her father's lack of appearances up to was overtime at work and lack of dedication to his family. It was routine with him.

She'd never really given much thought to it since she was about thirteen and realized just what kind of man her father was. He was the kind of man who put his career first and his family second, everyone else behind those two.

Kate and Natalie lived comfortable, but sometimes… even if it was just for a fleeting moment… Kate would give it up just to have the father that everyone else seemed to have: a good one.

Turning back to her mother, Kate shook her head, "No."

"Sweetheart," Natalie shook her head and exhaled deeply. She glanced up at the ceiling and then back at her daughter. "He hasn't come home at all."

In a matter of moments, the truth hit her like a ton of bricks and knocked the wind out from her.

"Dad walked out on us," she whispered. "Didn't he?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm so enthralled that this story is averaging ten reviews per chapter! Keep up the AWESOME work reviewing!**

**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, as it started out kind of light hearted, but then turned serious. Kate is a tough girl, though, and it should be interesting to see how she handles the departure of her father, considering she had possessed a general disdain for him in the last few years of her life.**

**Next chapter, though… John finds out about Kate's parents' separation. Stay tuned for that.**

**Shout outs: gurl42069, faxness-rulz, nobody knows cig, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, JCEdge RKO, goddessofthenite, I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome, dj-ssdd, Fallen1987, CharlieChaos, minature-hero, and Fozzy-Floozy!**

**Merry Christmas, everyone!!! Expect at least one more update in 2007!**

**Danielle**


	4. Chapter 4

_What's up, Lady J?_

_You like my new nickname for you? I'm still trying to see how I feel about it personally, but I thought you needed a nickname from me. I'll keep thinking about a better one, though…_

_Thanks for the tip about the arm… I'm finally getting some sleep at night. Like I said… you ARE my official injury guru! I have to warn you, though… the first time one of my fellow superstars gets hurt, I'm giving them your email. Hope you don't mind!_

_It's official, now… Heroes is done until next fall. I, for one, am extremely pissed, but please don't jump off any buildings. I really don't think my fragile psyche could deal with that too! As for baseball, thank you for the congratulatory note, but that doesn't mean I forgive you for the 1986 World Series!_

_Oh… and I'm glad that someone thinks I'm normal. Could you do me a favor and call my mother to tell her that? Thanks._

_I'm sorry to hear that high school is hell for you right now, on a level aside from academically. If it helps, I was picked on until I was fifteen for being a small, scrawny kid. Look at me now, though; I'm over six feet tall, two hundred and forty five pounds of solid muscle, and all those kids are still stuck in our hometown, doing absolutely nothing incredible with their lives. One day, you'll show them. I know you've got the determination in you, Kate. I believe you in and that has to count for something, right?_

_You are smart, funny, and incredibly intuitive. Plus, you're wise well beyond your eighteen years of life and you'd NEVER have to beg me to continue to write you. My days would be empty without hearing from you._

_I want you to know that if you ever need anything, whether it's just advice or something more, I'm just an email away, alright? Take care of yourself._

_John_

_PS: Although I know you will be successful in your external changes, don't change on the inside. I like you the way you are._

Kate sighed and pulled the covers over her head, nearly knocking the laptop off of her bed altogether.

It had been over three weeks since she'd first received that email; it must have been read about ninety five times since then. Her parent's separation had taken its toll on her and she still hadn't written him back yet.

It wasn't so much the departure of her father that hurt Kate the most, it was that she hadn't seen it coming. She hadn't much love left for her father in her heart anymore and his business trip had been the last straw. In fact, it had been the last straw for Natalie Jackson, as well.

Still, Matthew Jackson's departure from their lives was taking its toll on Kate's mother. She'd been late to work numerous times, barely ate, and found it hard to sleep at night.

He was a bastard for leaving her in the first place. Natalie was perfect and he was too stupid to see that.

_Men!_

But just as she was about to write off the entire species, a beep sounded from her laptop's speakers and another email joined her long list of unread emails from John.

With a sigh, Kate decided that enough was enough.

_Hey, Kate._

_I uh… I haven't spoken to you in a week or so. Normally, you write me back almost immediately. I hope my nickname didn't offend you._

_Just checking in,_

_John._

Another click.

_Kate, what happened to you? It's been two weeks now and this playing hard to get thing is becoming absolutely ridiculous! Girl, you'd be driving Randy Orton crazy by now!_

_Just kidding. Write me back, though!_

_John_

Another click.

_Kate, are you alright? I'm not genuinely worried. This isn't like you._

_Please write back!_

_John_

One last click.

_I know something's wrong now, Kate. I can feel this one in my gut._

_Please, send me an email, a freaking letter of the alphabet… anything to let me know you're okay. I am worried sick!_

_I'm here for you, Kate. You know that._

_Love,_

_John_

The last two words created a pang in her heart like she had never felt before.

"Love, John," the words rolled off her tongue and hung in the air around her.

She really liked those words.

* * *

"You're seriously sweating this girl, man!" the content voice of Randy Orton echoed over the speakerphone in John's kitchen.

"Dude, get your head out of the gutter…" the older man shook his head at him. "She's eighteen years old and a senior in high school. It's not like that!"

"Just because she's a senior doesn't mean she's not legal!" he informed him, causing anger to rise in John.

"You are incredibly lucky that I can't reach through that phone and smack that smug grin off of your fucking face," John scowled at the telephone. "How you got Samantha to marry you is beyond me."

A faint voice crackled over the speakers, "It's beyond me, either!"

"Really, Sam… unnecessary," Randy pouted on the other end and a smile twitched at the corner of John's lips.

"Quite necessary," his wife countered, her voice growing stronger. "John, you there?"

"Yeah," he nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"Listen to me," she requested, although he was certain it was more like a demand, "It's obvious this girl means a lot to you. It doesn't really matter what label you put on your relationship. Clearly, she's a friend of yours… am I right?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"So then why are you just sitting in your house doing nothing?" Sam countered. "There's this great thing called the internet. I mean, you know her first and last name. You know she's eighteen and a senior in high school. You know she lives in New Jersey."

"Point being?" John asked, slightly annoyed at her pushiness.

"Certainly you've heard of Myspace."

* * *

_John Cena would like to be added as your friend._

Kate continued to stare at the ten words on her screen in disbelief.

After not writing the man for nearly a month, had he really taken the initiative?

It couldn't be.

It shouldn't be.

But it was.

"I love how I'm keeping tabs on your girlfriend."

"Randal Keith Orton!" a female voice yelled on the other end of the line. "You give me that damn phone RIGHT NOW!"

It had been a week since he'd requested Kate on Myspace and he had yet to hear from her. In fact, he had created an account just for the sole purpose of communicating with her on the website.

"John, I don't understand why you trust my husband with anything anymore," Samantha Orton scoffed over the phone. "From now on, I'd prefer you come to me with your problems. In fact, I'd prefer you come to everyone BUT him with your problems."

"At this point, I don't care who it is," he shook his head. "My internet is down and I just wanted to know if she added me."

"_I_ will check," Samantha replied and began clicking away at the computer. "Well, well, well… what do you know?"

* * *

_Dear John,_

_I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to write you back, but at last, I feel I am of sound mind to reply to your numerous letters._

_Things have been a little rough on the home front as of late. A little while after I got your letter, my mom, Natalie, informed me that her and my dad are splitting up. It's not like I have this great relationship with my dad. Actually, he's kind of sucked as far as fathers go, but it's the idea of everything changing. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I am genuinely scared, John, and I don't know what to do._

_I mean, my grades are suffering, my health is suffering… hell, I'm just suffering altogether. And it sucks._

_I don't know what to do. I can't eat, I can't sleep… I've locked myself up in my room. Then again, with everything the way it is, I don't even know how long it will be my room. My mom works, but I don't really know if her income is large enough to support the mortgage on our house. I wouldn't be surprised if my dad finds a way to get out of both child support and alimony. It really would shock me at all. He did it once before… why not again?_

_Anyway, I figured that I owed it to you to explain why I wasn't writing. I didn't want you to think that I hated you. The only good thing about this is that I've lost close to 15 pounds since I found out. Well that… and you._

_Aside from my best friend, Julia, you are the only person that's really brought any sort of happiness to my life as of late and I'm extremely thankful for that, far beyond what you could ever estimate._

_Well…I think that's all. For now. I'm sure there will be more. Life's about to take a dramatic turn. _

_It's funny… you spend your entire life avoiding drama, but when it finally catches up with you, you wish you hadn't tried to outrun it in the first place. Maybe then, you'd be able to deal with it._

_Kate_

John ran a hand along his jaw line and silently cursed himself for not making himself available to her sooner.

She was dying inside, her world being ripped out from underneath her feet like a worn out doormat. The worst was that he was just as powerless as she was in the situation.

He did know what she was going through. In fact, his parents had divorced when he was nineteen and even though they were on decent terms, the pain never went away. If he could just sit her down and talk to her, maybe he could get her out of this rut she seemed to be stuck it.

In college, he wished that there was someone who could have picked him up off the floor and brought him back to his feet. Instead, he had a girlfriend who fueled the fire.

Come to think of it, that had never stopped hurting either.

* * *

"Kate!" her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. "Kate, please come out of your room!"

"It's winter break, Mom!" she answered back from behind the closed door of her bedroom. "I don't have to leave for anything."

A few moments later, Kate could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door. A slip of paper slid under her door and from the bed, she could make out black writing on it.

"Look," Natalie sighed, her hands pressed against the white wood, "I know this has been hard on you. To tell the truth, it's been harder on you than it has on me. I just don't want you to fall apart over this, Kate. You've got so much going for you. Don't give it up just because of your father."

Natalie was met with stone cold silence on the other end. Clearly, Kate had no desire to speak anymore, either.

"At least just read this, Kate," she sighed. "It came for you this afternoon."

Hearing nothing yet again, her mother retreated down the stairs.

Wiping away a tear from her eye, Kate slid out of bed and picked up the envelope. Written on the center of the white envelope, in black handwriting, was her name and address.

She ran her thumb lightly over the top left corner.

_Tampa, Florida._

Slowly, she tore the envelope open and pulled the card from the ripped paper. On its cover was a Christmas design, red and gold splashes of color with gold writing on it. With an intense curiosity, Kate peeled apart the covers and peered inside.

_Dear Kate,_

_I figured you could use a little holiday cheer, as I'm sure you're lacking some this holiday season. I'm sure you're wondering how the hell I got your address and you'll be proud to know that I figured it out all on my own. is a wonderful website, by the way._

_I wish that you could see it here in Tampa this time of year. It's absolutely beautiful. The sun is out almost every day and the water at the beach is warm all of the time. Granted, a little piece of me wishes I could see a white Christmas like when I was little. Still, this is home and it's nice to be here._

_Look, I know you feel like your life is falling apart right now, but I know what that's like. My parents divorced when I was around your age, but I was close with both of them… not to say my pain was worse than yours is. Don't make the same mistake I did, Kate. I wasn't there for either of my parents, instead I was focused on a girl who was out to break my heart. In the end, I wish I could go back and change the path I walked then, but I can't. _

_You need to be there for your mom, Kate. She needs you just as much as you need her. Strong women need to stick together, you know._

_On the back of this page is something that will help you stay in contact with me, to get to me on short notice. I might not always respond right away, but I will get back to you ASAP. In fact, I'll get back to you a hell of a lot faster than I've replied to your emails in the past._

_So… Merry Christmas, Kate. Or Happy Chanukah. Or Kwanzaa, if that's the way you roll. I don't know… just have a happy holiday, whatever it is, and know that somewhere in the world, despite how far you may fall, there is someone that understands._

_Love always,_

_John

* * *

_

Kate quickly pressed the end button on the phone and shook her head.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kate?" she dropped her head into her hands and sank down onto the floor, still holding the phone.

But as she sat on the floor, a funny thing happened: the number she had just dialed... called back.

* * *

**A/N: A little chapter to catch Kate and John up to Christmastime.**

**Hope you like this one!**

**I appreciate: Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, WWESupernatural102292, Fozzy-Floozy, Cena-Test-Lover, Ayla C. Raspus, JCEdgeRKO, John cena punk princess, Nikki, goddessofthenite, jada951, and I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome.**

**Please review!!!!**

**Danielle**


	5. Chapter 5

Kate stared at the phone for what seemed like ages and then, finally, clicked the green button. She brought the phone up to her ear and shut her eyes tightly, "Hello?"

"Hi. I just got a call from this number," the male voice stated matter-of-factly.

She couldn't even open her mouth to speak. Instead, Kate sat there completely silent.

The voice pressed on, "Um… hello?"

A moment later, she managed to squeak out a word, "John?"

"Who are you?" he asked, thinking this was just a random fan who had managed to procure his digits. "How did you get this number?"

"It's Kate," she replied quietly, amazed she had actually spoken a coherent sentence, albeit a short one.

And with two words, the entire conversation changed.

* * *

"It's Kate."

John's eyes widened as she sat down on the end of his bed and his tone softened, "Kate? Wow… I'm sorry I sounded so harsh. I didn't…"

"I know," Kate finished for him. "I'm sorry, this was a stupid idea."

"No, no," John interred quickly. "Don't go. I wanted to talk to you. It's just weird, finally hearing your voice, I mean."

"Well, I have to admit," she chuckled lightly, finally coming to her senses, "It's not everyday that I hear John Cena's voice coming from my cell phone."

"Touché," he laughed in response as she settled against a wall in her room, a smile etched on her face. "So uh…"

"Yeah…" she trailed off and lightly banged her head against the wall behind her, silently cursing herself for sounding like a total moron on the phone.

"I don't know what to talk about," John stated honestly with a shrug on his end.

"Me either."

"Well, why don't I start by asking you your hobbies?" he decided, even though to him, it sounded slightly lame.

"Okay," Kate agreed. "Ask away."

"Um… what are your hobbies?"

She couldn't help but attempt to stifle her laughter, "Good question. I love sports… mainly basketball, baseball, and football."

"You like sports?" he asked contently. "What teams?"

"I'm a Mets fan… keep your mouth shut," she ordered him with a laugh.

"Hey?" he held up his hands in mock surrender on his side. "We didn't win a World Series for eighty six years. Who am I to judge?"

"Good point, but sadly," she let out a deep sigh and shook her head, "I'm a Knicks fan too."

"That's rough."

"Kind of easy to say when you're a Celtics fan," she shot back. "But I happen to like football, I'm just a hometown fan. I like the Jets and the Giants. There's no preference for me."

"Well, since sports seems to be a conflicting topic for us, pick another hobby," John chuckled and tried to ease into another topic.

Kate scrunched her nose, trying to find another topic that they could discuss, "Um… I like cars?"

The phone nearly slid out of John's good hand, "You like cars?"

"Mhmm. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no," he smiled into the receiver, "Actually, I LOVE cars. It's just that you don't exactly come across girls who like cars everyday. What is your dream car?"

"Do you have five hours to hear all eighty two of them?" she countered with a smart-ass attitude.

"Is that an approximate number?"

"Absolutely."

"Then no. Okay, give me a car from the 60's you'd really like to have."

"I think the first car I'd seriously hunt for," she paused to give herself a moment to think, then came up with the answer and continued, "Would be a '66 Dodge Charger with the 426 Hemi."

"Care to explain?" he asked her curiously, despite knowing his own reasons.

"Dude, it's a Charger with a razor grill. Its body goes on for miles. It can go from zero to sixty in 6.4 seconds at 360 horsepower. That's all I need to say," she finished, quite satisfied with her answer.

"Seventies?" he continued the game.

The majority of his own friends, in their twenties and thirties, couldn't even rattle off the specs of the car like she could. Hell, they couldn't even remember the specs of their own cars.

Kate could state the specs in less than fifteen seconds without batting an eyelash. In his opinion, not only was that pretty cool… it was amazing.

"I know that this is going to sounded incredibly cliché," she prefaced, but then added enthusiastically, "I like the 1970 Plymouth Superbird."

"That is cliché…"

"I know, I know," Kate replied, "But I've heard that if you hammer the gas, the car _actually shuts down_ before the horsepower shoots through the roof!"

A smug grin crept across John's face as he leaned back against his headboard, "It does."

"How the hell would you know?"

"I have one," he answered matter-of-factly.

"I hate you," the words left her mouth faster than she could catch herself. "Whoa, that sounded mean. Sorry."

"No it's alright. I swear," he assured her with a laugh. "I would have answered me the same way if I was on your end of the conversation. I was kind of being an ass."

"That, I knew."

"Well, let me make it up to you," John began, "Are you going to be around in January at all?"

"Trust me, not going anywhere," Kate laughed. "Why?"

"Well, I'm going to be in New York City for the first weekend of the month," he informed her. "It's just some promotional crap for the Royal Rumble, but nonetheless, I'm on orders from Vince to be there."

"Um, okay…" she trailed off, silently hoping that he was getting to the part of the conversation she was wishing for.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out or something like that?"

The phone slid freely through Kate's hand and landed smack on her deep pink carpet.

She couldn't be hearing him right. Was he actually implying that he wanted to see her?

"Uh… hello?" his voice was barely audible from the floor.

"Oh sorry, I dropped you!" she called to the cell on the floor and then picked it up. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Good. We'll iron out the details in another week or so, when it gets closer. You might want to check with your mom," John answered contently.

_Two words. Donny. Osmond._

"I'm sure she won't mind."

"Cool. Listen, I've got to go now… my friend, Rob, is throwing a party for his girlfriend," he informed her nonchalantly, "It's her birthday. Personally, I think it's just an excuse for us to get trashed, but whatever."

"Okay," Kate chuckled in response.

"But it's good to hear you happy again, Kate," he said honestly, "I know you haven't exactly had too much to be happy about lately..." he added, trailing off sadly

"Hey, I just got a call from one of my favorite WWE Superstars. Right now, life is good."

"Glad to hear it," he smiled and pushed himself off of the bed with one hand. "I'm going to go get ready, but I'll give you a call a little later tonight, when I get home, okay?"

"You don't have to…"

He cut her off swiftly, "But I want to. I'll talk to you later."

"'Kay. Talk to you later," she repeated after him, all ready to hang up the phone.

But then his voice stopped her, "And Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't get a call from your favorite WWE Superstar. You got a call from a friend."

* * *

After breaking the news to Julia gently over the phone, her best friend arrived in her white Toyota Camry and whisked her off to dinner at the local Applebee's. 

Julia was genuinely happy for Kate, despite what she might sarcastically say. The girl hadn't had much to be happy about over the course of the last few months. For starters, she'd endured a surgery that was devastating to most others that needed it, but completely routine to her. Physical therapy was attacked like she was playing Guitar Hero, as nothing more than a challenge she could easily overcome.

Her parents' dissipating marriage, on the other hand, was not as easily handled. She knew that unless the court case was settled rather soon, there was a good chance that Kate's mother was going to be in financial trouble and that her daughter's once secure future might go up in smoke.

College was a different story altogether. The girl had the SAT scores, the GPA, and the ranking to get into some of the nation's top schools, however her financial insecurity would most likely terminate any chance at an out of state, private college.

Despite all of the odds stacked against her, Kate managed to find a stroke of luck somewhere along the line in falling into correspondence with John Cena. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Julia found that her best friend was happy and she'd do whatever she could to keep her that way.

"So what are you two going to do?" Julia asked her best friend, stabbing into a piece of chicken on her plate.

Kate shrugged and took a sip of her water, "I don't know. We just know that we're hanging together for a little while. Nothing's set in stone, though yet… so yeah."

"You could go to a movie or something," the brunette suggested. "Or the mall?"

"Right," the blonde girl rolled her eyes, waving her fork in the air as she talked. "I'm going to bring John Cena to a mall and see what happens?"

"Like you'd ever come within fifty yards of John Cena," a voice snickered from the booth behind her.

_Shit._

Kate's eyes shut and she winced, "Please tell me it's not…"

"It is," her friend sighed.

"Mallory," Kate opened her eyes and turned around, forcedly smiling at the not-so-natural blonde in the green booth behind them. "How _are_ you?"

"Laughing hysterically, thanks to your little John Cena fantasy back there," her classmate snorted with laughter. "Seriously, Jackson… do you really think, looking like _that_, you could actually have a chance with him?"

"I didn't say that…"

"Obviously," Mallory rolled her eyes. "Because then you'd be a little liar. I don't even know why you'd want to look at some 'roided out wrestler anyway."

"Uh," Julia interred on her friend's behalf, "Have _you_ looked at him lately? Two hundred forty five pounds and just over six feet of rock solid, blue-eyed muscle... yeah, not hard to figure out."

"Plus, he isn't on steroids," Kate added to the conversation in defense of her new-found friend.

"Oh yeah? And how would you know? Oh that's right, I forgot. You're going to the mall with him," she cackled and rose from the booth, showing off her miniskirt and sweater, with one of her lackeys. "Isn't that just precious, Alexa?"

The brunette in a pair of tight jeans and a hoodie joined in the laughter, "Just precious."

"God, we've got to tell the girls how delusional little Miss Kate is here," Mallory continued, grabbing her jacket and waving over her shoulder. "Tootles."

After the miserable blonde and her friend left, Kate just stared down at her plate and frowned.

"You okay?" Julia asked Kate across the table.

"Yeah. I'm just… I'm just not that hungry anymore," she nodded and looked up. "Can we go?"

The brunette nodded and five minutes later, after paying the bill, they slipped into the white car and drove off into the night.

* * *

Kate glanced at the clock in her bedroom and sighed. 

_11:47 am._

"So much for calling me back," she mused half-heartedly and slipped off her headphones she had worn to sleep the previous night.

Last night had been absolutely disastrous and now, whatever slim desire she had to return to school was gone altogether. Just as she was about to go and take a shower, the cell phone charging on her nightstand nearly buzzed right off the hard surface and onto the floor.

Kate reached for the black phone, pulled it off of the charger, and opened it.

_I am so sorry I didn't text you right back. I told you I was going to get drunk last night… and of course I did and got home at 9am. Of course, now, I'm hung over as hell and am going to try and sleep the day away. Forgive me, please?_

_John_

With a content sigh, she typed back her response.

_Take two aspirin and call me in the morning._

_Kate_

All better.

* * *

**A/N: I know this isn't exactly my longest chapter, but I kind of wanted to get you all an update before the New Year, so here it is!**

**I actually had a chapter typed up as early as yesterday night, but after re-reading it… I HATED IT. So I typed this one up instead and I like it a lot better.**

**That being said…**

**I appreciate: faxness-rulz, JCEdgeRKO, nobody knows CIG, MissyKate21, cassymae, aphotshot, John cena punk princess, nikki, I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome, goddessofthenite, Ayla C. Raspus, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Johnny, WinchesterAngel3389, and Cena-Test-Lover!**

**I am floored by the immense amount of support you guys are giving me. I only hope that it continues and starts 2008 off right for me. Keep reviewing everyone!**

**Have a happy and a healthy New Year, guys! May 2008 bring you nothing but luck and joy.**

**Danielle**


	6. Chapter 6

John looked down at the cell phone he had left on the kitchen table ten hours ago and let out a sigh. Chances were he'd received a text message back from Kate, along with numerous others, and missed a few phone calls along the way, as well.

With his left hand, he grasped the small rectangle and began fiddling with the keypad.

_Six missed calls._

Immediately, he pulled up the menu and checked all of his missed phone calls.

_X Dad – 12:45pm_

_X Kate Jackson – 1:17pm_

_X Kate Jackson – 2:34pm_

_X Rob Sullivan – 2:55pm_

_X Kate Jackson – 4:47pm_

_X Dad – 5:29pm_

The blue-eyed man tilted his head to the side and studied the information before him. It was easily concluded that Kate had called frequently while he had been sleeping and must have needed to talk.

Clicking off of the call record, John noticed a small envelope icon was on his screen, signaling unchecked text messages. In fact, four of them.

* * *

_Take two aspirin and call me in the morning._

_Kate

* * *

_

_Hey kiddo. I'm just checking in to make sure you're coming up for Christmas. Call me back._

_Dad

* * *

_

_Yo, bro. What you up to?_

_Marc

* * *

_

_Hey, John. Give me a call when you get the chance, okay?_

_Kate

* * *

_

_Christ, Cena… are you in a coma? I need to talk to you ASAP. Please call me!_

_Kate

* * *

_

_Dude, I am sooooo bored._

_Sean

* * *

_

With a half-hearted laugh, John began to reply to his text messages.

_Yeah, Dad. I'm coming up. I'll give you a call after dinner tonight._

_John

* * *

_

_Yo, Marc! What's up, killer? I'm just sleeping off last night's party._

_JC

* * *

_

_Sean, get a fucking Job._

_Your employed older brother

* * *

_

_Kate, I'm taking a shower and then I'm calling you. I SWEAR ON IT._

_John

* * *

_

"Fuck," Kate cursed as she checked the same text message for what seemed like the millionth time in the last half hour. "What is taking so damn long?"

Angrily, she threw herself back on the bed.

She wanted to talk to John about his visit in two weeks. In all honesty, after the Mallory incident, she wasn't sure it was such a good idea anymore. While she was dying to meet the former WWE Champion, she wasn't certain that all of the flack she'd receive would be worth it in the end.

The only thing she was actually afraid of was the prospect of someone seeing them together at somewhere public like the mall. Immediately, they'd figure that she would have stalked him there, even though that argument wouldn't even make sense. Then again, who cared if gossip made sense… it only needed to be interesting.

_Stop. Collaborate and listen…_

With only a crack of a smile on her face, Kate reached for the phone on her desk.

"Have a nice coma?"

John let out a hearty laugh, "Yes, a very pleasant one, thank you. I'm sorry I didn't call you back. I guess I didn't realize how many I really had…"

"I don't think this is a good idea," Kate blurted out suddenly.

_Way to be subtle, Kate._

He paused in silence before speaking again, "What isn't?"

She sighed, "You coming to see me."

"Kate…" John trailed off, shaking his head on the other end of the phone as he sat at his kitchen table, "You seemed stoked about it yesterday… what happened?"

"Nothing," she attempted to cover, "I just…"

"Bullshit," he cut her off. "What happened?"

_Busted…_

"I was just talking it over with my friend, Julia, and…"

"So what if she doesn't think it's a good idea," he interred again.

A deep exhale of air passed through Kate's thin lips. John was making this really hard on her.

Then again, maybe they were better off this way. He was thirty years old, successful, and handsome. Certainly, John Cena didn't need the one hundred sixty-five pound, five feet, four inches tall high senior who could barely handle her own home-life and had enough drama in her life that would put ABC's daytime lineup to shame.

Then again, adding John to the mix had upped her drama meter comparable to ECW's storylines.

"John, stop!" she finally exclaimed, rendering him speechless. "Julia's the one who is trying to convince me otherwise. It had nothing to do with her."

"Then what's the problem, Kate?" he asked her impatiently.

"Julia and I went out to dinner last night and we bumped into these two girls who overheard me talking about our plans for January," Kate explained with a sigh. "And of course, one of them just had to be the girl whose eternal mission is to make my life a living hell."

John nodded in understanding, "So she didn't believe you and gave you a hard time about it."

She bit her lip and agreed, "Yeah."

"But if we go out and they see us hanging out together…"

"They'll turn it into a whole bunch of vicious rumors," she finished for him.

John rubbed a hand over his nearly non-existent hair. This sucked. This really, really sucked.

"So I'll take you somewhere else, somewhere that's NOT your town," John offered.

"If you leave Marlboro, you could go to a neighboring town and still see people you know. Just because my town's not as small as West Newbury, doesn't mean a network doesn't exist," Kate countered sourly.

This time, he rubbed his forehead with his good hand and tapped his fingers on the table.

"What about another state…?"

* * *

Kate reached up and placed her English textbook on top of her locker shelf. As soon, as she had dropped another book into her backpack in its place, the blue metal door slammed shut and a pair of red-taloned fingers lingered on the surface.

"See Mr. Cena lately, Katherine?" the owner of the claws cackled.

"I don't have time for your shit today, Mallory," Kate seethed through gritted teeth before turning to meet the girl eye to eye. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Meeting John, I'm sure," Mallory laughed and flipped her blonde hair as her lackey stood in the background. "Right, Alexa?"

"Of course," the brunette sneered, her blue eyes darkening.

Kate rolled her eyes and opened her locker once more, "Whatever."

"Oopsies," the unnatural blonde shrugged innocently. "I forgot… she's meeting him in another week. Not today. My bad."

"You know," the five foot four blonde shut her locker door and turned to face her rival with a smirk, "For a girl who claims to despise me, you seem to sure know a lot about my personal life…"

"Or lack thereof…"

"Your words, not mine," Kate smirked and brushed past the Abercrombie-clad girl and the Hollister-covered wannabe behind her. "Later, bitches."

Her comments flustered Mallory, who called out to her as she pushed through the school doors, "I may be a bitch, but at least I'm not delusional!"

* * *

"You lucky little bitch," Julia seethed to her friend over the phone. "In just two hours you're going to be meeting John Cena and I'm stuck at fucking college!"

"Hey, you could have gone to a state school," Kate countered with a laugh laced with nervousness, "But you chose Pennsylvania. Not me."

"Yeah, whatever," her best friend countered. "So where _are_ you going?"

"Well…"

"BESIDES the city," she cut Kate off, knowingly ending the oncoming sarcasm.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me," she shrugged and fixed her makeup in the mirror.

"And what are you wearing?"

It was a simple question to answer now, but a few hours ago, all Julia would have heard from Kate's mouth was a scream of despair.

Currently, there were clothes all over her bed, leaving random spots of pink peeking through in only a few locations, and she still had yet to decide on a pair of shoes.

But the outfit that rested on her body was a simple chocolate brown, scoop neck sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans with flowers made of yellow stitching on the pockets. It was sweet, yet sophisticated and it'd be perfect for the cold, winter day outside.

"That brown sweater we bought last time you were in, the one that was a tiny bit snug last time," Kate informed her friend, turning to view her side profile in the mirror. "God, my ass looks huge."

"Oh shut up," Julia groaned on the other end of the cell phone. "Seriously, you're what now… one hundred fifty pounds?"

"One hundred fifty two… point seven," Kate corrected her and tugged at the hem of her sweater.

"Shut up. I'm sure the sweater fits perfectly now," the older girl scoffed at the younger one. "Girl, I barely even recognized you when I came down and you had only lost about sixteen pounds since the last time I saw you. He's gonna drop dead when he sees you."

"Easy to say when you're a size six at most," the younger girl countered as she began to spray her hair with the red bottle of hairspray that had formerly rested on her dresser.

"And what are you? A size ten?" the college girl sniped back. "Oh the horror. Come on, Katherine. You and I BOTH know that losing over sixty pounds in the last year is absolutely nothing to scoff at. And by the way… your ass is just fine."

"You're not looking at it!"

"I don't care to at the moment, but I assure you… it. Looks. Fine."

Kate's eyes flitted around her bedroom and she froze, "Shit!"

Julia gasped instinctively, "What? What is it?"

"What if he wants to come upstairs… or a tour of the house?!?!?" her mouth dropped open.

"Uh…" her friend trailed off and chuckled awkwardly. "You give him one."

"But my room looks like a tornado hit it!" she screamed shrilly.

"Then clean it the fuck up!"

* * *

About an hour later, all of the clothes that had been laying on Kate's bed were back in their rightful drawer, closet, or armoire, all of her makeup was put away, and every little miscellaneous item in her room had returned to its original place.

"I think that's it…" she trailed off, surveying the room.

Julia laughed, "I'd tell you myself, but I can't see the room… unless you sent me a series of panoramic picture messages."

"Oh my God, can I do that?" Kate asked, genuinely serious.

Julia smacked herself in the forehead, "Now that's just a tad bit obsessive, Jackson…"

Following the comment, the chiming of the doorbell resonated off of the walls of her house.

The brunette spoke softly, "Was that a…"

"Doorbell," Kate finished for her conclusively. "Shit. He's an hour early… shit. Shit. Shit…."

"Okay, Kate… just breathe," Julia instructed her calmly, "And use a different word other than shit…"

Her eyes clenched together tightly, "Fuck."

A brief chuckle entered her ears, "Okay. That is one… listen. You're gonna be fine. Just go down there and present yourself nicely. Don't be overly wordy, don't be quiet. Don't talk about wrestling… but don't talk about yourself either."

"Okay," she nodded furiously. "Anything else."

"Um… yeah. Just… just you know… be yourself."

"Yeah, like that's ever worked before," Kate mumbled.

"Kate, you have a visitor!" her mother called from the bottom of the steps.

"I'll be right down," she replied loudly and then softly spoke to her friend. "Alright, I'm gonna go now. I'll text you when I can, I just don't want to be rude, you know? Wish me luck?"

Kate could feel the smile creeping across her best friend's lips, "Good luck, babe."

"Thanks. Bye, Jules!" she whispered into the phone.

"Bye, girl."

* * *

The five foot, four inch blonde slowly made her way down the steps until her black Chuck Taylor's hit the tiled floor with a light thud.

_Breathe in and breathe out,_ she coached herself silently and took a deep breath.

The footsteps continued as she hooked around the end of the banister and made her way down the hallway. In what seemed like an instant, she had approached the end and the hallway opened. Her head snuck around the corner of the wall, taking a peek and retreating back to rest against the wall.

In a pair of dark blue, acid washed jeans and a plaid shirt, with stripes that were thinner than normal, he was even better looking in person. In fact, he was BIGGER in person, as well.

With another deep breath, Kate finally mustered up the courage to walk out of the hallway.

Immediately, upon her entrance into the family room, he took notice of her presence, stopped petting Kate's chocolate brown Labrador retriever, and rose from the brown, leather sofa with a smile on his face.

"Kate," he continued to flash her his knee-weakening smile… which was working.

"Hi," she managed to breathe and looked down at the Berber carpeting under her feet, then back at him as he closed much of the space between them.

"It's nice to finally put the face with the words… and the voice," John added, his turquoise blue eyes sparkling in the overhead lighting.

Now, he was close enough for Kate to discover that the thin striping of the plaid was in fact, a mesh of dark and light blues, along with a camel brown, over linen white fabric.

"I can't really say the same," she remarked in response, bordering on wittily, and smiled up at him just about nine inches above her, "But it is nice to finally see you in person."

John let out a chuckle in response and shoved his hands in his pockets, "You're exactly what I expected."

"I hope that's a good thing," Kate stated simply, toying with one of her sleeves.

"It's a very good thing," he replied with an honest grin and removed his hands from his jeans, extending them away from his body slightly. "Can I get a hug?"

_Is that a trick question?_

Kate nodded and stepped forward slightly, allowing him to envelope her much smaller body with his strong arms. For a moment, she froze, despite knowing what would occur when she responded, but then wrapped her arms around his back as far as she could.

_I think my hands are ACTUALLY a foot apart._

All too quickly, he pulled away, leaving her with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Should we go now?" he asked, glancing at the wall clock. "I don't think we'll hit a lot of traffic if we leave now. Then again, I'm not from around here… I don't know."

She didn't exactly want to show off, but then again, she didn't want to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, even if it was with the former WWE Champion.

"Yeah," Kate agreed politely. "If we leave now, we'll have a good shot at beating rush hour."

John nodded and turned to her mother, "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Jackson. I'll be bringing her home in one piece, I swear. When does she need to be home by?"

Internally, she grinned from ear to ear… it sounded as though he was her date.

Natalie shrugged and waved him off, "Whenever is fine, John. I trust you. Just have a good time."

"Okay, thank you," he replied and escorted Kate to the front door, which he pulled open. "After you."

"Thanks," she answered softly and walked out the door into her front yard.

Immediately, she turned to face her driveway and shook her head with a grin.

"I thought you'd like it," John remarked from behind her and soon passed her as he made his way over to the car.

She rolled her eyes at him, "You're such a gangsta."

"Don't I know it," he winked at her, not missing a beat, and slid into the driver's seat of his black H3. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Kate continued to shake her head and quickly found herself in the passenger seat.

Turning on the ignition, he shut the door and buckled himself in, "Any musical requests?"

"Anything that won't make my ears bleed."

"Okay… guess that's a no to screamo," he laughed as he backed out of the driveway.

"Yeah, that'd be a no," Kate laughed. "You know… this isn't too bad," she remarked as the GPS set into the center of the dashboard informed him that he needed to take a left. "At least you didn't go for the Solar Flare Metallic Orange."

"Come on, now, Kate…" he looked over at her as they stopped at the end of another street. "A true playa knows how to be low-key."

_Right… in a Hummer._

"Okay, John," she reached over and patted him on the leg. "Whatever you say."

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me this long to update, but since getting back to school, I've been working really hard for the upcoming mid-terms, so yeah.**

**And, I wanted a triple update so that I could be incredibly excited when I checked my email after school. Hint hint!**

**I appreciate:**

**Johnny, faxness-rulz, cassymae, Ayla C. Raspus, Cena-Test-Lover, goddessofthenite, JCEdgeRKO, I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome, jada951, Nicole, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, WinchesterAngel3389, John cena punk princess, pinkshadow89, Fozzy-floozy, xxwithlovexx, dj-ssdd, and miniature-hero!!!**

**EIGHTEEN FREAKING REVIEWS IN ONE CHAPTER!**

**That's absolutely insane, you guys. Thanks you sooooo much for your kind words and your loyalty to this story.**

**Please, as always, review!**

**Danielle**


	7. Chapter 7

Kate sat in the plush, leather passenger's seat and stared out the window. For the last twenty-five minutes, they'd been relatively silent.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked him, finally breaking the silence.

"Was that question just for the sake of talking or are you serious?" John smiled at her briefly and then turned his eyes back to the Turnpike.

Kate nodded in conceit, "A little of both."

"Well, for the record, I'm glad you started talking… it was too quiet. I was going to have to start singing show tunes soon and _nobody_ wants that," he added with a laugh as he tossed two coins out of the window and proceeded forward.

"Former WWE Champion John Cena sings the greatest works of Broadway," Kate mimicked the antics of Lillian Garcia in a majestic voice. "I can see it now."

John shook his head confidently, "You can't see me."

Kate rolled her eyes, "Can't stay away for long, huh?"

He shrugged, "It's the reason I'm battling my own body everyday."

The smile on Kate's face instantly faded and she felt bad that she even brought it up.

As a recovering patient of only two months herself, she understood just how exasperating the situation really was.

"I'm sorry," she apologized somberly.

"Nah," John waved it off, "It's fine. Can't pretend the problem doesn't exist when it's there everyday. You know what it's like…"

"Yeah," she rubbed a hand over her denim clad knee. "At least you don't have your sling…"

John grinned, "And you don't have your brace…"

"Nice observation, meathead," Kate mused and turned her body slightly so that her back was partially against the door and window.

"Proudly," he grinned cheesily from her left.

"You sound just like one of my guy friends!" she exclaimed with a roll of the eyes. "He's a meathead too… he and I used to work out together in his backyard shed, which had no sort of temperature control, may I add. Well, before I got hurt."

"So really then…" John began, changing lanes and exiting off the Turnpike, "You're a meathead by association."

"No, I am not!" she protested furiously. "I am not a meathead…"

"And it's clear that you like him, too," he added.

"Um… no," she stated simply.

"Um… yes," John countered. "Seriously, Kate… you're diggin' the kid. Don't play coy with me, Blondie."

"Blondie?!?" Kate's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he grinned smugly. "I called you Blondie."

"Oh yeah?" she put her hands on her hips, "Look, who's talking, you… you… you…"

John snickered at her comeback, "You got nothing."

Kate grunted and turned away from him, eyeing the distant New York City skyline in her window.

The muscular man smiled to himself, a reward for a job well-done.

* * *

A half hour had passed and Kate still hadn't spoken a word to him, not even in passing.

But… he just couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"You like him…" John sang teasingly.

Kate remained silent. Annoyed, but silent.

"You like him…" he continued in a sing-song voice.

Still, nothing.

"You like him…"

"OKAY!" she yelled angrily at him and turned away from the window. "You win! I like him! Can you shut up now?"

"Nope," he shook his head once. "What's his name?"

Kate cracked her knuckles habitually, "Not that it's any of your business, but his name is Justin."

"What does he look like?"

"He's about 5'8"… black hair, blue eyes, muscular…"

"How'd you meet him…?"

"God, John," Kate groaned. "This isn't Five Questions! I don't HAVE to answer everything you ask."

"Yes, you do," he countered, entering the Holland Tunnel.

"Oh, yeah?" she challenged him. "And why is that?"

"Cause if I kicked you out of the car right now, you'd be stuck in the middle of a tunnel," he pointed out smugly.

"Ugh," she banged her head back against the seat and begrudgingly continued, "We met in one of our bowling leagues when I was a Freshman. I've liked him ever since."

"You bowl?" John asked her in surprise as he signaled right.

"No, I don't bowl… I kick ass," Kate informed him.

"High game?"

"276."

"High series?"

"743… where is this conversation going?" Kate laughed and continued, "Anyway, enough about my personal life. It's time I get to ask you about yours."

"Here it comes," John rolled his eyes and faced her as they stopped at a light. "You're going to yell at me too…"

"No," she held up a finger to silence him. "I'm not. I just want to know if you're happy."

_Happy? Of course I'm happy. I mean, I think I'm happy…_

"I think so," he nodded in affirmation. "Look, there's the restaurant up ahead. I'll leave you off up front and will meet you inside."

"Look, John," Kate sighed as they pulled through the green light and up to the curb. "I know that with the way my parents are, my opinion might not mean that much to you, but before you enter something as important and binding as marriage, you better be damn sure that you're happy," she added, opening the door and sliding out of the Hummer, "Because from where most objective onlookers are standing, this looks like the classic case of a gold-digger… then again, if you're truly happy, I guess that doesn't really matter, now does it?" Kate asked rhetorically and shut the door, leaving her companion with a lot to think about.

Could she really be right?

* * *

Kate wandered into the restaurant, completely overwhelmed by the scene around her. It took her a few minutes to realize where she even was at first and only did so because of the metal calligraphy words emblazoned on the host's podium: The Ivy.

"Excuse me," a proper man in his thirties asked her from behind the podium. "Can I help you?"

"Um…" Kate stammered and looked at him, "I came here with a friend of mine and I, uh…"

"Do you have a reservation?" he tapped his foot, just out of view.

"I don't know, he made the plans," she answered honesty.

"Well, I'll need both your name and your friend's name to verify that you are, in fact, on the list," the host informed her. "Not to mention identification."

Kate fished through her pocket book and came up with her wallet, which she pulled her license from.

"John Cena and Kate Jackson," Kate smiled proudly and handed him her ID.

The host arched an eyebrow and then glanced down at the card, "Ms. Jackson, welcome to The Ivy. Allow me to show you to your table."

The dark-haired gentleman led her to a table for two, "Here you go, Miss. Will Mr. Cena be joining you shortly?"

Kate glanced down at the cell phone in her pocketbook as she sat down with her back to the entrance, "That's a very good question."

"Your waitress will be with you shortly," he informed her and then retreated as she glanced through the menu.

_Stop! Collaborate and listen…_

"Right on time," Kate mused and grabbed her cell from her bag, "Hello?"

"You know, that's a very interesting ring tone you've assigned me, Blondie."

"Thank you," she laughed and the paused. "Wait a minute. How did you…?"

"Turn around."

Kate obliged his request and found the six feet, one inch tall John Cena towering over her from behind, "Ahh."

"Ice Ice Baby," John chuckled and shook his head, sitting opposite from her. "Nice choice. I see you remember my Halloween costume from years ago on Smackdown."

Kate bit her lip to stifle her own laughter, "Kind of hard to forget, don't you think?"

"Maybe next year, I'll come to your neighborhood and claim to be a kid dressed up like me, give people a surprise. What do you think?" he asked, glancing at his own menu.

"I think there will be more than a few cops called to my development."

* * *

"That was the best chicken tortilla wrap ever!" Kate announced as they left the restaurant. "And oh my God! Did you see who was sitting in the corner of our room?"

"Yeah," John laughed and nodded. "Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese."

"Oh my God!" she squealed. "I was in the presence of greatness!"

"Why thank you…"

"I wasn't talking about _you._"

"Oh," his voice dropped slightly.

"I'm sorry, Cena… but those men are legends. If it makes you feel any better, you're a legend in the making," she added optimistically.

"It does, a little. So you ready for what's next?" the muscular man smirked at her.

"Of course," Kate grinned excitedly.

"Come on, m'lady," he extended his arm out for her to take. "Your chariot awaits…"

* * *

"How did you know my secret pain?"

John let out a hearty chuckle as they were escorted to their steel seats, "We have talked about it before. The first conversation we ever had over the phone, actually."

Kate nodded, "That's right. I'm impressed."

"With a team like yours, you have to be impressed about something," he teased her.

"I'm sorry we all can't be Celtics fans," she rolled her eyes as they began to announce the starting five and the Garden went dark.

"I'm sorry your team sucks," he countered as Stephon Marbury and Nate Robinson jogged right by their seats. "But at least these seats don't."

"Nope," Kate shook her head with a smile. "They most certainly do not."

* * *

"Seriously, Cena," Kate smiled as they walked through her front door, the clock striking two a.m. in the kitchen as her mother laid fast asleep upstairs, "This was the best day… ever."

"Are you only saying that because the Knicks won?" he narrowed his blue eyes at her.

"No!" she exclaimed, but then realized just how loud she was being and dropped her voice a few decibels. "I mean, no. It was just fun hanging out with you."

"Honestly, Blondie, it was a blast hanging out with you too. Unfortunately," he sighed. "I have a long ass drive back to the city."

Kate nodded, but then spoke up, "Do you even have a hotel there?"

"Well, no…"

"That settles it, then," she straightened herself up and darted towards the stairs.

"Um…" John whispered from the foot of the stairs, "Where are you going?"

"I'm making sure the guest room is all cleared out of our crap," she called back quietly. "There is no way in hell that I am letting you drive back into the city at this hour to try and find a hotel. You're staying here."

"I really don't think that…"

"It wasn't a question, John," she arched an eyebrow at him and waved him up. "Plus, you're in town for a while, right?"

"Yeah, I did a lot of the promotional work this morning and while I planned on staying the week, I'm done now," he concurred as he reached the top. "Point being?"

"Then you're staying here," Kate told him plainly, leading him to the guestroom beside her bedroom. "I've got a few days off, we'll have some fun… and we'll forget all about the fact that we're gimps."

John did a double take, "You mean to tell me that you'd actually be okay going out, in public, in your hometown?"

Kate fanned a hand at him as she flicked on the light in the room and leaned on the doorframe, "Seriously, I was acting like an idiot. I mean, what the hell could possibly happen, right?"

* * *

**A/N: Yay! It's back!**

**Chapter seven has arrived! I thought you guys would like this chapter!!!**

**Um… and just for the record… you readers rock! Seriously, TWENTY THREE REVIEWS?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?! That's amazing.**

**I appreciate: **

**Sideways anger, Fozzy-Floozy, Shanai, xxwithlovexx, cassymae, littleone999, Ayla C. Raspus, giftiebee, Johnny, pinkshadow89, nobody knows cig, faxness-rulz, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, MissyKate21, Cena-Test-Lover, jada951, rb, Sanoru, JCEdgeRKO, goddessofthenite, Fallen1987, miniature-hero, and JeffHardyFan02!**

**Imagine if I did that all in one breath!**

**Just for the record, Kate's opinion of the whole Liz thing kind of reflects my own. That's the last I'm going to comment on it… for a little while anyways. I've kind of moved on and now it's like, whatever. You can screw up your own life, darling… but in the end, you'll come to your senses. All men usually do.**

**And uh… yep. Review Review Review!**

**I have a feeling we're gonna break 100 reviews this chapter!**

**ENJOY!**

**Danielle**


	8. Chapter 8

"What the hell was I supposed to do?" Kate asked in a harsh whisper. "Make him find hotel?"

"Um…" Julia trailed off. "Yeah."

Kate rolled her eyes, "Cause it would have been incredibly nice of me to turn my friend away."

"It would have been practical."

"It would have been rude," she countered as she heard footsteps overhead. "Ugh, I've got to go. I think he's up."

"Did you really just say 'ugh' about John Cena?" her friend did a double take.

"No, only because you're bothering me. Bye," she replied curtly and hit the end button, just as John walked into the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants and a wifebeater.

_Lord, kill me._

"Morning," he mumbled and wiped a hand down his face as he leanced against the wall on his left.

"Try afternoon, Sunshine," Kate laughed as she brushed past him and headed into the family room.

"Really?" he looked up at the wall clock, which read 1:23pm. "Damn."

"Okay, Ron Simmons," she rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch.

John smiled at her as he approached the couch, "Call me Superman."

"Okay, _Superman_," she laughed. "Get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah," he nodded and plopped down next to her.

"Don't sound like it."

"Aww, Kate…" he sighed and then buried his head in her much smaller shoulder. "I'm still so tired!"

_Christ._

"Poor Clark Kent," she rolled her eyes at him. "Seems like sleep is your kryptonite."

"So is boredom," he countered. "What are we doing today?"

"Well, _I_ have a bowling tournament at 3…"

"Can I come?" his head shot up suddenly.

"I don't know, John…" she trailed off warily.

He looked down at her with puppy dog eyes, "Please?"

"God damnit… alright," Kate finally gave in. "Go grab something to eat from the fridge and then make yourself presentable."

John stood up on his feet and promptly saluted her, "Yes, sir… uh… m'am, uh…"

Kate pointed down the hallway, fighting a smile, "Just go!"

As John marched down the corridor, she shook her head and found herself thinking out loud, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

"Do I get to meet Prince Charming today?" John asked from the passenger's seat as the car turned onto Route 33.

"Shit," she mumbled and hit her hands on the wheel. "I forgot about that."

"I know," he grinned proudly and folded his arms over his chest.

Kate let out a deep sigh, "Listen, I can't do anything about this now… just, I really like this guy, John. Don't embarrass me, okay?"

John reached out and pinched her cheek, "Okie dokee."

She smacked his hand away, "I mean it, John!"

"Okay, okay," he held his hands up in surrender as they pulled into a parking spot outside of the alley.

"Come on, let's go," she ordered him as they hopped out of the car.

John made his way to the trunk of Kate's Honda Element and opened it, pulling out the two-ball bag with his right arm.

"I'm sorry…" Kate slammed the trunk shut, "Are you high?"

"Excuse me?"

"That was your right fucking arm, Cena," she hissed at him. "Um, pectoral tendon… anyone?"

"We have to talk about that later, remind me," he pointed at her as they made their way to the front door.

"Um…" she trailed off warily as he held the door open for her. "Okay."

As they walked towards the door, a million thoughts ran through her mind.

What the hell could he possibly be talking about? If her gut was right, something was amiss in that crazy mind that belonged to the one and only John Cena. What it was, however, she couldn't be sure.

Immediately, upon entering the alley, they found it bustling with activity, making it almost chaotic.

"Holy shit," John deadpanned.

"Yep… and this is nothing," she replied and let him over to the check-in table.

"Hi, name please?" the balding man behind the folding table asked her.

"Kate Jackson… 180 division," Kate answered simply.

The man's eyes roamed over the sheet in front of him, "Ah… lanes 27 and 28. Stepladder format, we're figuring about ten rounds at the moment."

_Shit, right in the fucking middle._

"Thank you," she replied graciously and walked a few feet over to her lanes.

"Where can I sit?" John asked as she began unzipping her bag.

"Right behind us, at the table," Kate pointed right next to him with a nod.

"Hey, Kate," a male voice addressed her from her left. "Making your return, I see."

Kate smiled and turned her head towards the comment, "Hey, Justin!"

John's head shot up and he smirked.

The 5'7" eighteen year old appeared beside her and ran a hand through his black, wavy hair, "Who's this?"

The 6'1" man reached up and took off his Red Sox hat, "John…" he extended his hand out and received a surprisingly strong handshake, "John Cena."

"Hey," Justin's aquamarine eyes glinted. "It's nice to meet you… my cousin's a huge fan."

"Thanks," the elder man nodded.

"Kate," her longtime crush flashed a smile her way, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming today?"

"Last minute decision," she shrugged innocently.

John shook his head as he took a seat and smiled to himself, _Look at her work him over._

"I'm assigned to lanes 23 and 24, so I guess I'll be seeing you for a little while then, huh?" Justin asked her, crossing in front of her to his own lane.

"Yeah," she smiled back at him, "Definitely."

* * *

After about forty minutes, John looked up at the screen above the lanes and grinned as the final scored flashed on the screen.

_KJ – 246_

_VD – 187_

Kate shook her opponent's hand and smiled at John, "I'm going to go wait on the line for the snack bar and get some water, you want anything?"

"I'll take some water too, thanks," he replied and watched as Justin finished his game on the other lane.

_JB – 221_

_MM – 217_

Justin turned around to say something to Kate on the other lane, but found that she was no where to be seen, "Hey, have you seen Kate?"

"She went to the snack bar," the older man informed him and waved him closer. "Let me talk to you for a minute, man."

"Um… okay," the eighteen year old agreed and sat down on the large bench opposite the table. "What's up?"

"You like her, don't you?"

_She is going to kill me for this._

"Well," Justin smiled to himself and ran a hand through his hair, "I… uh… yeah."

"Then what are you waiting for?" John eyed him, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest.

"To figure out if she likes me," he responded quickly.

The wrestler shook his head and laughed, "Dude, are you that blind? She's diggin' you… it's pretty obvious."

"Not to me… wait. How do you know?"

"Like I said, it's pretty obvious," John raised his eyebrows to try and imply what he was really saying.

"Oh… OH," the younger male nodded in firm understanding. "Gotcha."

"So are you going to do something about it?" John challenged the muscular teenager.

"Not at this particular moment, but yeah," Justin nodded. "I will."

"Good," John assured him, just as Kate returned with two bottles of water, one for herself and one for John.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" she tilted her head to the side as she handed John his bottle.

"Not much," he informed her. "Justin won his match."

"Congrats," Kate grinned at him and gave him a quick hug, causing him to smile behind her back. "That's awesome."

"I see you won too," he squeezed her slightly, "Great job."

"Thanks," she nodded and looked behind John to see an older man posting the new set of matches. "Ah, schematics. Well, good luck in the rest of the tournament. I'll see you later alright?" she smiled at him and then headed off for the list.

Justin let out an exhale of breath and shook his head, "Women."

John chuckled, "Damn straight."

* * *

"Hey, John?" Kate asked her friend as she sat down at the kitchen table, where he was reading the newspaper.

"Yeah?" he replied, not looking up from the sports section.

"Thanks."

"For what?" he finally glanced up at the blonde.

"For not embarrassing me," she blushed. "I appreciate it."

John waved her off, "Don't worry about it. Listen," he put down the paper, "Do you think you could do me a favor next Sunday?"

"Um… maybe. I have midterms," she chewed on her bottom lips, "But food science is the next day, so yeah. Probably. What is it?"

"I need you to come to New York with me," John leveled with her. "I can't tell you why yet, as nothing's final, but… do you think you could?"

"I'm sure it'd be fine with my mom. She loves you anyway," Kate laughed and adjusted the cuff of her Rutgers sweatshirt. "Why New York?"

"Kate," the blue-eyed man sighed. "I can't tell you."

"Oh… right," she looked down and then back up again. "Well, I'm going to start dinner for when Mom gets home. We'll ask her then, okay?"

John nodded in agreement, "Okay."

* * *

"Morning, sleepyhead," John laughed, drinking from his glass of orange juice as Kate dragged herself into the kitchen, a complete reversal of the previous morning.

"Shut up, Cena," she muttered, reaching for a bowl in the cabinet.

"Oooh… temper, temper," he wagged a finger and her. "You ready for school?"

"Fuck. School," she replied through gritted teeth as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Come on Kate," he continued to chuckle as he brought a forkful of eggs to his mouth. "It can't be that bad."

Kate shot him a glare, "Excuse me?"

John looked down at his plate and began stirring the eggs in a circle, "Maybe not."

The younger person snorted, "That's what I thought."

* * *

Kate sighed in relief as she opened her locker door and noticed there was no Mallory in sight.

"Oh, Jackson…" a sing song voice called from the classroom beside her row of lockers.

_Fuck._

"Mallory," she forced a pained grin and looked behind her. "How are you today?"

"Just great," the girl bubbled and pulled out a copy of Star Magazine from her bag. "Especially since your darling John Cena was caught out with a mystery babe in New York City this weekend. Here, look," she thrust the tabloid at the natural blonde.

Kate glanced skimmed over the page with her hazel eyes.

Sure enough, there was a picture of John Cena dining with a blonde whose back was to the camera and therefore unrecognizable.

"Allow me to read for you," Mallory sneered and ripped the magazine from her grasp. "Ehem," she cleared her throat and then pressed on. "Former WWE Champion John Cena was caught dining with a woman at an unidentifiable restaurant over the weekend and an anonymous onlooker states that "they looked closer than just mere acquaintances." This comes as a surprise, especially considering Cena recently got engaged to his longtime girlfriend."

"I'm so glad you're more interested in his personal life than I am," Kate retorted with an annoyed chuckle.

"Aww, poor Katie. Is Prince Charming not what you expected," her enemy teased her, sticking out her lower lip for effect and then cackling. "Here," she threw it at her feet, before turning on her heels, with Alexa not far behind, "You can keep it!"

Kate sighed as she picked up the magazine from her feet and stared at the picture.

"I'd recognize that brown sweater anywhere."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I don't know if you guys have seen my profile recently on this site, but before you proceed, you must look at it… the update for 1/30/08 anyway.**

**Yeah… that's right. I messaged John on his apparently official, new myspace and despite his non-communication policy, he wrote me back.**

**I wrote him a message about my surgery and how his road to recovery inspired me… and I must admit, it was a DAMN GOOD letter.**

**Here's what he wrote.**

"**Danielle,**

**Even though I only have a few moments on here, I'm going against my non-communicating rule for one minute. Your message touched me and I am glad that I could help you through your rehabilitation process. I know that an ACL injury is something that most have trouble dealing with. Especially that painful therapy process but I have to say you sound like a very strong young woman. I wish you the best and I hope you are fully recovered soon. Stay strong… and stay sweet. And don't let anything get you down for long, not even an injury like that. We just have to look at them as obstacles we have to overcome to reach our final destination.**

**Take care,**

**John"**

**I seriously almost died when I read that AOL Mail was saying that I had a message from John Cena in my Myspace inbox.**

**Seriously, my stories are starting to predict the future and it's scaring me to DEATH.**

**Um... and I apologize for the massive amount of dialogue, but my muse ran wild today. And my mind's running at 1000 mph at the moment.**

**Anyway, shout outs:**

**Cassymae, goddessofthenite, giftiebee, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, JCEdgeRKO, I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome, faxness-rulz, Johnny, xxwithlovexx, littleone999, pinkshadow89, SKYE-07, WWESupernatural102292, jada951, JessieStarr, miniature-hero, 101mizzpoet101, Fozzy-Floozy, Queen Chaos-Hardy, Lilmisshardygirl, and MissyKate21 (kind of hard to be Kate now, isn't it? Hehe).**

**God damn, I'm on cloud nine.**

**Review as always!**

**Danielle**


	9. Chapter 9

_Kate - _

_Please forgive me, but I still can't explain what's going to happen tonight. All I can tell you is that you need to take the 6:35 am train from the Aberdeen train station into Penn Station._

_Outside of the terminal, there's going to be a man in a suit, right in front of the entrance of Borders'. His name is Nick, he's a security guard, and he'll escort you to where you need to go._

_Tell no one who you are unless they ask and make sure you have your driver's license. You're going to need it as a form of I.D._

_I am sorry that I'm being so cryptic, but it's the boss's orders._

_You'll see why._

_See you soon,_

_John_

"Can you please tell me what the hell that's about?" Kate sighed and sunk down into her mattress. "Because, quite honestly, I have no idea."

"Well, that makes two of us," Julia scoffed on the other end of the phone line.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes, "For a best friend, you sure suck sometimes…"

"Ah, ah, ah…" she halted her friend. "What do we know about making statements that can be interpreted dirtily…?"

Kate couldn't help but smile, "Don't make them."

"I've taught you well," the brunette surmised lightheartedly. "Listen, I have an early class in the morning, but before you ask… wear your dark blue jeans without any designs, your AC/DC tee with the red rhinestones, and your black Chuck Taylors."

"You are good," the younger friend chuckled. "I'll keep you posted tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan… goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Kate folded up the paper again and looked up at the sign in front of her.

_Borders._

It was because of John's weird-ass, cryptic as hell letter that she was standing in the middle of the plaza, completely confused.

It wasn't like she had never been to New York before. Hell, she was born in Brooklyn and was the child of a Bronx boy and a Brooklyn girl.

But nothing that her less-than-doting father and wise-beyond-her-years mother could have done to prepare her for this.

Not then, not now.

This one, she'd just have to learn on her own.

Her hazel eyes flickered around the storefront and soon locked on a slightly burly man in a navy suit.

Hesitantly, she approached him, "Are you Nick?"

He continued to stare past her, or at least… she thought he did. It was kind of hard to tell with the polarized sunglasses covering his eyes.

"That depends," his deep voice replied, his serious face never faltering. "What's your name, kid?"

Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek at that particular comment, forcing her stubborn personality to quit bugging her, as Nick was not the man to have an argument with at that particular moment.

Especially at seven o'clock in the damn morning.

"Kate Jackson," she stated simply, deciding it was the best way to avoid pissing him off or annoying him altogether.

"Yeah," Nick nodded and finally acknowledged her presents with a definitive tilt of his head. "Follow me."

For a few minutes, she stepped side by side with the mysterious older man as he mechanically maneuvered his way through the busy area with ease.

In fear of a seething retort, Kate tried to glance at their surroundings for some clue as to what she was doing.

Failing in her efforts, she adjusted her black backpack on her shoulder, which contained the suddenly very heavy zip-up sweatshirt, half-dozen bagels, iPod, and novel that her mother had forced her to pack that morning.

"_Well, I can't just walk into the bagel store and buy ONE bagel, Kate. That's a little insulting, don't you think?"_

Reflecting on her mother's words, the blonde couldn't help but smile.

At least she gave a damn about her own kid, contrary to what Matthew was trying to argue in divorce court.

Immediately, her father came to mind.

She wondered what he was doing with his life, now that she and Natalie were no longer a part of it.

Was he still sleeping around with other women? Or was the thrill of it now gone?

Was he still working hard to the point of sleeping three hours a night? Or was that all just a sham to begin with?

But as the five foot, four inch spitfire bumped right into the back of the muscular Nick, all thoughts of her father were pushed aside.

"Why did we stop?" she asked, looking up at the sign over her head.

"Because we're here," he replied with little effort.

"And where exactly _is_ here?"

Nick pointed to a sheet of metal above her head and the eighteen-year-old followed his fingers.

_Madison Square Garden._

"I have to go do a security sweep," Nick announced and reached into the interior pocket of his jacket, handing her a business card. "Go through the front doors, make a left once you get through the glass doors, and tell them that you are the runner. If you have any problems, have them call me at this number."

"Um…" Kate trailed off and then looked up from the card, only to see him nearly twenty paces ahead of her. "Okay."

Pocketing the small rectangle, she entered the World's Most Famous Arena.

* * *

Kate glanced around the stark white hallways of Madison Square Garden with a fondness.

For years, her father's company was a season ticket holder and he'd bring her to Knicks games as a little girl, but those days had long since come and gone.

As had the glass door nearly five minutes ago.

Continuing to walk forward, Kate began to search for the card that Nick had handed her before seeing her off, as it had become quite possible to her that she had mistaken his directions and was in dire need of assistance.

And then, she was knocked flat on her ass.

* * *

Kate's hazel eyes fluttered open and the world began to come into focus, albeit it wasn't too quickly.

After she regained her wits, she decided to sit up, but was suddenly overcome by a sense of dizziness and the spinning room around her, of which nothing could be made out.

"Whoa, whoa," a deep, gravelly voice halted her. "Take it easy there."

_I know that voice…_

The blonde reached for her head and rubbed the currently sore spot, discovering a bump in its place, "You should have told me that before I decided to sit up."

The man chuckled in amusement at the spunky girl, "You shouldn't have been walking around Madison Square Garden by yourself at eight 'o clock in the morning."

"I'm here for a reason," she scoffed and hunched over slightly, resting her elbows on her knees as she continued to clutch her head. "What's your excuse?"

"Other than the fact that I work here, I believe I'm the one that ran you over like a monster truck," he continued to laugh at her expense. "Speaking of which, you okay?"

"Aside from the massive bump on my head?" her eyes rolled. "I'm just fan-fucking-tastic."

Continuing to look down, Kate caught sight of his white sneakers now directly in front of her on the black couch.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I can't really get rid of the bump, but here's some ice. Maybe that will help," he suggested, holding out a pouch of ice for her head.

"Thanks," she murmured and slowly looked up at the man in front of her, finally locking eyes with him and taking notice of what beautiful blue ones they were. "You're Randy Orton."

Randy gestured down his body and flashed a cocky smile her way, "In the flesh."

"Wow… this is a pretty crappy way to meet you," Kate surmised weakly, taking the ice pouch from his hand and placing it against her aching skull.

"I think that's the first time a girl's ever said that to me," the wrestler marveled in amusement. "Listen, I have to go, but can I at least help you to wherever it is you need to go? I kind of feel bad for injuring you…"

"Oh my God," Kate looked up in mock-shock, "He does have a soul."

His sapphire eyes rolled, "I'm being serious."

"Me too," she shrugged and slowly rose to her feet, with a little difficulty. "I'm not entirely sure where I'm supposed to go, all I know is that I was told to bring a form of identification."

Randy nodded and handed her the backpack that had formerly been resting at the foot of the couch, "You're probably supposed to go to the check-in and get your pass. I know where that is, I'll take you there."

For the first time that day, Kate smiled genuinely and sighed in relief, "Thank you."

The blue-eyed man pulled open the door for her and followed her through, "So, uh… what brings you here today?"

"Same thing that brings you here," she retorted simply as they began walking down the hallway and noticed the confused stare on her companion's face. "The W… W… E …"

"Thanks for the enlightenment," he rolled his own eyes this time. "So how old are you?"

"Old enough to know that you're married."

"It's called small talk, kid. I'm trying here…"

"And old enough not to be called 'kid' anymore," Kate added sharply.

"Please, I'm twenty seven now and I'm going to be a dad soon…" Randy shot her a look. "And there are guys in the back who are still calling me a 'kid.'"

"You know, you're the second person to call me a kid today," she added incredulously, turning with him at a corner.

"And I won't be the last," he shook his head as they came to a stop at the security check-in point. "Get used to it."

The eighteen year old couldn't help but laugh, "I'll try to remember that. Listen, thanks for the ice pack and helping me get here. I appreciate it."

Randy waved it off, "No problem. I did kind of bowl you over in the first place… and contrary to popular belief, I'm not an asshole…" he trailed off and then smirked slightly, "Well, not a complete asshole, anyway."

"Rrrrright," she continued to chuckle and ran a hand through her blonde hair. "Still, thank you."

"Like I said, not a problem," he smiled at her and Kate could feel the tiniest of quivers in her surgically repaired knee. "Now considering that I knocked you over, knocked you out, and helped you find your way again, can I at least know what your name is?"

_Tell no one who you are unless they ask..._

"I… I can't tell you," she bit down on her lower lip slightly.

Internally, Kate was groaning loudly. The one time she gets to meet the Legend Killer himself… and she can't even tell him her name.

_Fucking John Cena._

At this point, all she wanted to do was give these people her driver's license and go find where the hell John was.

She'd already made enough of an idiot of herself for one day.

"I'm sorry," she continued to apologize as she sighed.

"It's okay," Randy nodded and Kate could have sworn that his blue eyes sparkled mischievously for a second before he leaned down, his head right next to hers and his lips near her ears. "I know he's here too."

The young woman smiled for a brief second, watching as Randy straightened up, and extended her right hand, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Randy."

Randy grasped her hand lightly and pressed his lips to the back of her hand, "It was nice to meet you too…" he trailed off and locked eyes with her once more. "_Kate._"

* * *

**A/N: So, I think that I'm really happy with this chapter.**

**After re-reading the last one, I came to the conclusion that I there was a reason I went from twenty-something reviews to 15 or so. The last chapter was crap. Too much dialogue, not enough internal monologue, which this fic has become notorious for.**

**I'm sorry that this one was short, but I've learned that quality is better than quantity, even if it leaves you guys dying for more sometimes. Hopefully, I gave you guys some more incentive to review this chapter. I know it's much better than the last.**

**Shout outs: Queen Chaos- Hardy, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, gurl42069, Johnny, pinkshadow89, nychick4, goddessofthenite, sideways anger, jada951, JCJF.lover, MissyKate21, RKOxLOVESxME, Fozzy-Floozy, Inday, JCEdgeRKO, Lilmisshardygirl, and Devil0Child!**

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter… and please review this chapter, especially if you didn't last chapter, so that I know that I did better on this one.**

**Thanks, everyone!**

**Danielle**


	10. Chapter 10

As Kate traveled down the hallway, still slightly nursing her sore head, she couldn't help but remain fixated on two questions:

How the hell did Randy know who she was?

And where the hell was John?

Her hazel eyes flitted down to the paper in her hand as she walked away from the security check-in. Written down on the sheet was a series of directions from her current position.

And suddenly, Kate felt as though she had been transported into one of the Mission Impossible movies, yet there was no trace of Tom Cruise and/or Ethan Hunt anywhere.

_Make a left into the second hallway._

Following the instruction, she turned left into a totally empty hallway once again.

* * *

Glancing at her watch, the eighteen-year old realized she'd been maneuvering deeper and deeper into the labyrinth for almost a half-hour already.

With a heavy sigh, she read the last direction.

_Look for the third door on your right. Taped to the doorway is a key. Use it for the door across the hall._

After furrowing her eyebrows, she headed for the aforementioned door, plucking a bronze key off of the metal.

With a converse-clad foot, Kate pivoted to face the blue door across the hall. After a few steps forward, she extended a slender arm and slid the key into the lock.

Three deep breaths later, she opened the door allowing it to quickly shut behind her with a dull thud.

"Hey, Blondie," a voice greeted her softly as she faced the now-closed door.

Her ears perked up and she wheeled around on her heels, "John?"

The muscular man seated on the couch nodded, "Yeah. It's me."

"But, I…" she began to walk towards him.

"I know," he halted her, rising to his feet. "I'm not supposed to be here. But…"

"You're returning tonight," her hands flew to her hips. "Aren't you?"

John sighed, "Yeah."

Her blood pressure shot up a few points, "Are you insane? Six to twelve months, John!" she yelled at him. "Six to twelve… not three, not four… six to twelve!"

"Hey, Kate… is it six to twelve?" he crossed his arms in defiance.

Apparently, Kate didn't find it nearly as funny as the wrestler.

"I did NOT get up at five 'o clock in the morning so that you could make jokes at my expense," Kate seethed at him as she walked forward, forcing him to pace backwards, "You could end your career!"

"Andrews knows, Kate," he cut her rant off, causing her to stop immediately.

"What?"

John took a seat on the couch again, "I am doing this with his approval."

The blonde sunk down beside him, "But, why?"

He rubbed his hands against the rough denim fabric of his jean shorts, "I sat in bed for weeks after I had my surgery. My only escape was physical therapy. It was the closest thing I had to a gym. But, Kate… you and I both know the feeling of being helpless. And you hated it just as much as I did… as I do now… until I step foot in that ring again."

For a while, she couldn't help but study his face intently.

Kate knew that he meant every word that had passed through his lips and when it came to her own surgery, she had felt the same way.

But Katherine Jackson knew her limitations… and she could only hope John Cena knew his.

"So why did you bring me here, John?" she asked him curiously, folding her legs Indian-style.

"No one but Randy, Paul, Steph, and Vince know that I'm in the building, let alone returning," he explained to her. "Honestly, I didn't want to be alone back here."

"What about Liz?" Kate arched an eyebrow at the wrestler.

He chuckled lightly, "Let's just say that she doesn't get along all too well with Stephanie."

Kate smiled and nodded in understanding, "I could see where that'd be a problem."

* * *

About an hour later, a knock resonated on the door, causing the eighteen-year old to glance over at the Massachusetts-native worriedly.

"Relax, Kate," he held up a hand and then walked to the door. "It's just Randy."

John pulled open the panel and let him inside, "What's up, killer?"

"Not much…" the taller man shrugged and dropped down on a couch. "I just got back from eating breakfast at catering…"

John's chiseled draw dropped, "Are you kidding me?"

"What?" his palms turned upward on his thighs.

"I was only complaining to you for the last hour that I was hungry… and you didn't even bother to bring me back anything?" he asked incredulously.

"Dude," the third-generation wrestler shook his head, "Do you realize how suspicious it'd look if I carried all of that food out of there?"

"But, I'm hungry…"

Kate rolled her eyes and dropped her backpack on the floor, "Oh, stop it already. God…"

"Yes?" Randy answered with a smirk.

"In your dreams," the blonde retorted sharply as she unzipped her backpack and pulled out a brown paper bag. Skillfully, she tossed it at the older wrestler. "I hope you like bagels."

He clutched the bag to his chest, "I love you."

She couldn't help but chuckle, "I love you, too, John, and Randy…"

"You don't have to tell me you love me."

"Good… now I don't have to feel bad when I don't," Kate smiled at him curtly. "Go back to the locker rooms. People are going to start to wonder where you are…"

He scoffed at the notion, "Fuck people."

_He makes this all too easy._

"Well, if that's the case… I'd suggest you hurry up and bring John and me back some breakfast," she countered, opening the door for him.

"You're a bitch sometimes, you know that?"

She smirked at him, "Only to you."

* * *

For the last twelve hours, all John and Kate had done was sit, talk, watch TV, eat, sit some more, talk some more, play video games, and in John's case, eat a LOT more.

And while, to most people, this would have been incredibly boring, Kate was enjoying it a lot more than her regular routine.

Around six pm, she had to go to the bathroom… and that meant finding her way back through the maze.

After twenty minutes of travel, without finding a bathroom, she managed to collide with a rather large man in a random hallway.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't see you when I turned the corner," a male voice explained to her.

"Ugh," she slapped her hands against the floor and pushed herself back to her feet. "That's the second time I've been knocked on my ass today."

"Sorry about that," the deep voice tried to stifle a chuckle.

"It's alright," Kate sighed and finally looked up into a set of blue eyes, belonging to a young man only a few years older than her.

"Well, um…" he extended a hand from his pocket. "I'm Cody."

"I know," she nodded and shook his hand. "It's the family business after all…" Kate quickly covered.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

"Mine too," Cody agreed with a smile. "As you can tell, I'm a Rhodes. Well, technically a Runnels. What are you?"

"I'm an Orton," she replied smoothly.

"Ah… does this Orton have a name?"

"Kate."

He smiled boyishly at her, "Kate Orton, huh?"

The blonde shook him off, "Technically a Jackson. His dad's sister's daughter… it's a complicated sort of thing."

"You don't have to tell me about complicated," Cody laughed at his own situation. "Between my father and brother, there is enough crazy to meet the state quota."

Kate chuckled at his comment, "Depends on what state."

"I guess so," he continued to laugh, but then managed to calm himself. "So, Kate… planning on being the WWE's latest third-generation superstar?"

"Me?" she put a hand to her chest and then burst out into laughter. "With a body like this? Ha… never. I'm going to be a lawyer."

Cody shook his head, "Obviously, you haven't looked in the mirror lately."

Kate did a double-take at Cody's words.

At one-hundred and fifty pounds, she still had about twenty-five more to go until her goal. Nevertheless, whenever she looked in the mirror, Kate still saw the girl of old, the same girl she had previously seen for the last eighteen years.

There was no way that the six feet, one inch man of pure muscle, with piercing blue eyes, could actually find her attractive.

Was there?

But just as she was about to attempt to find out, a gravelly voice cut her off, "So this is where you wandered off to, Kate. I've been looking for you everywhere."

_Fuck. Orton._

"Randy…" she turned around to greet him. "Hey."

"Runnels, are you hitting on my cousin?" he arched an eyebrow at the twenty-two year old.

_Was he listening in on our conversation?_

The younger wrestler turned a shade of red as a light blush crept up his cheeks, "No."

_That fucker was listening in on my conversation!_

"Good," he nodded punctually and placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders. "Now, if you'll excuse Kate and me for a moment, we have to go track down Stephanie."

"We do?" she furrowed her eyebrows, only to have Randy's fingers dig into her flesh. "We do."

"Oh, okay," Cody grinned at her. "Maybe I'll see you later?"

Kate went to open her mouth to speak, but Randy interred, "Maybe."

Her jaw closed again as the young man nodded and quickly disappeared behind a corner.

Steaming slightly, she thrust an elbow into his ribs, causing him to hunch over.

"What the hell, Kate?" he seethed, clutching his midsection. "What was that for?"

Her thin lips formed a scowl and she placed her hands on her hips, "For listening in on my conversation."

* * *

The door to the well-hidden room flew open and slammed against the wall, leaving a slight dent in the plaster.

The thirty-year-old's hand shot up from the TV program he was watching, just in time to catch the blonde tear through the room like the Tasmanian Devil.

"Kate, I'm sorry…" a voice assured her from outside the door. "Kate…" it called again, soon revealing its owner to be Randy Orton.

"You are SUCH an asshole, Randy Orton!" she whipped around and glared at him. "You had no right whatsoever-"

"What happened, Kate?" John rose from the couch and walked over to her.

"Nothing," Randy tried to explain. "She's just overreacting-"

"I asked Kate," he held up a hand to silence his friend. "Not you."

"He stole my cell phone, took off with it, and then returned it forty minutes later!" Kate yelled in exasperation.

"That's not so bad…"

She folder her arms over her chest and popped her hip, "AFTER he gave my number to Cody!"

John shook his head slowly and looked at his friend, "Orton…"

"What?!" he threw his hands up defensively. "She was getting her flirt on!"

"Yeah… I was until _you_ showed up!" the blonde exclaimed angrily.

A familiar smirk spread across his lips, "So you _do_ admit it."

"John," Kate turned to him in a calm voice. "I'm sorry… but I'm going to have to kill your best friend."

In an instant, her demeanor changed from calm to violent and she lunged for Randy, only to have John catch her around the waist.

"Kate, stop it," he tightened his grip around her.

"I'm going to kill him!" she screamed shrilly, struggling against his body.

"Randy, you've got a match to win…" John locked eyes with the younger man. "Go!"

* * *

About two hours later, John received a text message from Stephanie, telling him that his spot was coming up.

After five minutes of a pep-talk in the mirror, he met Kate outside of the room. With a silent nod, he let her know that he was ready to go.

For about ten minutes, they navigated the empty hallways, his head tucked under the lowered brim of his hat.

Finally, Kate broke the silence, "I'm sorry."

As they made a left, his head followed, "For what?"

"The way I acted," she replied simply. "I didn't mean to be such a bitch to Randy."

"You'll get used to him eventually," John shrugged as they approached the gorilla. "He's a pretty brazen guy, Kate."

"Okay…" her eyebrows contorted in confusion.

He pulled off his hat to run a hand over his lengthening hair before returning it to his head, "I just don't want you to think he's picking on you."

They came to a stop at the backstage monitors, "I don't."

"Good," he nodded reassuringly and glanced at the screens.

"You ready, Cena?" a feminine voice asked him.

"Yeah, Steph."

"Excellent," the brunette smiled at him, then Kate. "You're on in five."

As she returned her gaze to the monitors displaying her husband's activities in the ring, John's attention turned back to his friend, "You're going to be watching from the monitors with Stephanie. I'll be back before you know it."

"Cena!" a deep voice boomed from the sound booth behind the curtain. "You're on!"

John slid his arms around her shoulders and she hugged him back tightly, "Take your time."

He grinned at her for a moment, then walked behind the curtain in waiting.

"Kate, what are you doing?"

"Hmm?" her head swiveled to face Stephanie.

"What are you doing?" she repeated, standing from the chair.

Confusion washed over her face, "Waiting…"

Her brown eyes rolled and her hand wrapped around the blonde's wrist, "Come on."

After the initial jolt, Stephanie led her around a corner to a door guarded by security, "Where are we going?"

The door opened and Kate was pulled through, "To watch."

A minute later, Kate and Stephanie were standing a few people deep, behind a railing, next to the ramp. Distracted by the match, no one even noticed the younger McMahon sibling's presence.

"You ready?" the brunette smiled over at Kate.

Kate smirked, "I thought the McMahon-Helmsley era was over."

Stephanie let out a chuckle, "I like you."

But before Kate could respond, brass horns filled the arena, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

In the ring, the wrestlers froze and turned to the ramp, where the impossible was becoming possible.

Her gaze traveled back to the ramp, where a muscular man stood with his head down, his arms crossed over his chest.

Without warning, his head popped up and she couldn't help but smile at entrant number thirty.

Almost a full eight months ahead of schedule, John Cena dove into the ring and was finally ready to rumble.

* * *

He had done it.

Four months of excruciating pain, a three-inch incision, numerous Kevlar stitches, and hours of physical therapy later, John Cena had won the Royal Rumble.

After the match had ended, Kate and Stephanie were escorted into the back to wait for the ring to clear.

Fortunately, she had missed Cody, who was already on his way back to the hotel. She couldn't bare to look at him after Randy's prank.

But John Cena had not left the building, not by a long shot.

As she was talking to Stephanie, a familiar voice caught Kate's attention, "So how'd I do, Blondie?"

With a bright grin rapidly spreading across her face, she ran to John, "John!"

He caught her in his arms and spun her around in the air, "What'd you think?"

"You were amazing!" she beamed as he set her down on her feet.

"Thanks," he returned the smile. "I'm going to go change… and then we'll go celebrate, okay?"

"Sure," she agreed.

"Do you want to wait outside the room?"

Kate's eyes wandered to the 6'4" superstar passing them, "I'll be right there. There's someone I need to speak to first."

* * *

John slid his gray Red Sox shirt over his aching shoulders and refastened the watch on his wrist.

Tonight had been absolutely perfect in his mind, both the reaction and his performance.

However, the vibrating in his pocket quickly knocked him from his fresh memory.

He reached into his pocket and glanced at the caller ID.

_Liz._

A knock echoed off of the door, "John, you ready?"

His thumb glided over the keypad of his LG phone and finally settled on a square.

_Ignore._

"Yeah…" he replied softly, slinging his black duffle bag onto his broad shoulder. "Ready."

* * *

**A/N: Once again, it has been way too long. Sorry about that. I hope this chapter was well worth the wait.**

**Next chapter is going to jump a little bit ahead, but it's going to be interesting. I think Liz and Justin will be making appearances again.**

**I appreciate:**

**Inday, giftiebee, sideways anger, cassymae, Johnny, JCJF.lover, RKOxLOVESxME, littleone999, MissyKate21, Queen Chaos-Hardy, Fozzy-Floozy, Fighter37, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, JCEdgeRKO, pinkshadow89, Cena-holic8, The.Black.Psycho.Barbie, goddessofthenite, WWESupernatural102292, MVP Is My Drug Of Choice, jada951, dj-ssdd, and galloptome.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter… please review!**

**I will do my best to update as much as frequently as possible if you do!**

**Danielle**


	11. Chapter 11

The last few months had been really eventful for both John Cena and Kate Jackson.

Since his return to the Royal Rumble in January, John had gone on to Main Event at No Way Out and Wrestlemania and was content with his career, even though he was not scheduled for a championship run. Not yet, anyway.

And for Kate, things were going pretty well. After a few months to think it over, she had decided on Rutgers University as her choice for college in the fall. It was in-state, a good school, and only a half an hour from home. Not to mention, only an hour and a half from Justin's choice of college, though it hadn't really been a deciding factor. A girl didn't choose her place of study based on where her boyfriend would be attending, now did she?

But still, for each one, there were downsides to their lives.

On John's end, his relationship with his fiancée, Liz, was severely strained by his travel schedule, which had picked up its pace again, not to mention included a filming schedule for his upcoming movie, "12 Rounds." Then again, his friendship with Kate wasn't exactly helping either.

Kate's family life wasn't nearly as flawless as her personal life, as of late. Her father was doing his best to tie up divorce proceedings in the state courts as long as he could and at the rate things were going, Kate would have her law degree by the time a hearing date was actually set.

For now, though, each was doing what they did best…

Throwing themselves into work, school, and each other, trying as hard as they could to ignore their problems at home.

Kate tried to stifle her laughter as she heard a shatter against the wall, "Was that a vase?"

"Mhmm," John concurred as more muffled screaming could be heard behind the closed door of his bedroom. "And I believe some dinnerware might have been mixed in there too."

"As long as it's not Grandma Catherine's china, I think you're okay," she mused at her friend's plight.

"Are you kidding me?" the wrestler scoffed. "Do you think I'd be stupid enough to leave that shit lying around for her to get her hands on? Pssh… that's at my mom's house."

This time, she couldn't help but laugh, "I don't give you nearly enough credit sometimes, Cena."

"Damn right," he agreed over the yelling. "How's your boyfriend doing?"

"Pretty good. I spoke to him a few days ago and he's feeling a little under the weather. Probably the virus that's been going around lately, but he'll be fine. He always is," she replied nonchalantly. "The doctor said to take it easy with working out the next few days, but God forbid he should do that."

"Please, Kate. You don't mess with a man's weights."

"As I am learning…"

Suddenly, there was another large crash on John's end of the line, followed by a multitude of much smaller ones.

"Shit…" John trailed off as the yelling began once more. "I have to go preserve what's left of my house. You're coming to the show in April in East Rutherford, right?"

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it."

"Good, because not seeing you in three months is killing me… and listening to this BITCH BREAKING MY SHIT IS KILLING ME TOO!" he yelled loudly so that his fiancée could hear him, which in Kate's book, was not a good move on the Massachusetts native's part. "And I'm sure you've lost even more weight since the last time I saw you, despite the fact you're always beautiful in my eyes."

"You're such a charmer. Why do you put up with her bullshit?" she sighed, flopping down on her bed.

"Because I love her," he sighed, as well. "When you're older, you'll understand what I mean…" he curtailed as something else smashed.

Kate winced, "Shit, that sounded like a window."

"Probably was. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Kate."

"Bye, John," Kate laughed as she hit the red button on her phone.

* * *

"Shit, Liz…" John marveled at the damage his living room had incurred as a result of her temper tantrum. "Did you leave anything whole in this house?"

"What does it matter?" the brunette-turned-blonde leered at him from the other side of the room. "It took all of this shattered glass to get your attention in the first place."

His jaw locked in place, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're never home anymore, John," she complained, her feet crunching over shattered pieces of a light blue vase. "And even when you call from the road, we rarely talk for more than five minutes. But for the last hour, you've been on the phone with Kate… and I'm sure that's who you call every night too."

"What exactly are you getting at, Liz?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's enough that I have to share your time with millions of other people," she explained with a huff. "But it's not fair that I have to share your time with some eighteen year old Jersey-girl you've known for less than a year now too."

"Since she's a fan of the WWE, you were already sharing time with her to begin with."

Her teeth ground together in anger, "Don't be a smartass."

"Or what?" John challenged her with cold, blue-gray eyes as he advanced towards her. "You're going to break some more of my shit? You think I don't know the routine by now, Liz?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"The hell you don't," he curled his lip in disgust. "You think you can get revenge on me by shattering vases, breaking windows, but you can't. Those can be replaced, those can be fixed… all of the important things I have aren't necessarily possessions, Liz. And the possessions I do have some attachment to aren't even in this house," he added, grabbing his car keys off of the kitchen counter and heading for the door. "So do what you want, break everything in sight, scream at the top of your lungs… blow the house up for all I care. I've got insurance. But nothing's going to change, Liz. I'm still going to be employed by the WWE. I'm still going to be on the road for the majority of the year. Most importantly, I'm still going to be friends with Kate. And there's nothing you can do about it."

* * *

After knocking on the white maple door of her daughter's bedroom, Natalie Jackson's feet began striding against the dark pink shag carpeting.

"Hey, Mom," the eighteen-year-old greeted her, barely even moving on her bed.

"Hey, Kate," the elder woman replied with a smile, eying the cell phone on her dresser. "Did you finally get a hold of John?"

She nodded, rising to a sitting position, "I did. We didn't get to talk as long as we normally do, though."

Natalie sat down on the end of her gold-brushed rose-colored comforter, "Why not?"

"Liz turned into a one-woman-wrecking crew again," Kate laughed

"Dear God, that woman needs a psychiatrist," Natalie shook her head at the thought of John's fiancée.

"You try telling John that… and see how far you get."

"No thanks. I've already got one man who is out of his mind in my life. I do not need two, thank you very much," she waved her daughter off. "Speaking of your father, he's actually agreed to sign over his fishing car to you, the Element, and will drop it off tomorrow morning, papers and all."

"The Honda Element?" Kate's eyebrows rose. "That's the car of his I actually wanted. How did you get him to…?"

Her mother smiled at her, "Easy. I just politely explained to him that we could get an injunction over this matter immediately, as it was a pressing issue, and if it got to the courts, there was a good chance he'd have to sign over one of his BMW's or Mercedes _or_ purchase you a new car of your choosing altogether. And, well, I thought he'd see it my way."

"Way to go, Mom!" she exclaimed, clearly impressed by her mother's tactics, and high-fived her enthusiastically.

"This old dog still has a few tricks left in her," Natalie winked at her daughter. "Listen, dinner's going to be at seven tonight and your aunt's coming over. Is Justin feeling any better?"

"Last time I texted him, he was in the middle of a lengthy nap. It's pretty safe to say he'll be sleeping for a while."

She clicked her tongue, "Poor boy. I'll make him some of your grandmother's chicken soup to bring him tomorrow. He'll like that."

A smile spread across the teenager's face.

John's mother and father, not to mention siblings, couldn't stand his fiancée. In fact, the mutual disdain had extended for over a decade.

Yet she was fortunate enough to have a boyfriend her mother adored… and she couldn't blame her.

"Thanks, Mom. He will."

* * *

The following day was Saturday and that normally meant that Kate and Justin would be heading somewhere around the Monmouth, Middlesex, Ocean, or Mercer counties to bowl for travel league.

But with Justin sick, she had to make the unpleasant trek to Sea Girt all by herself. On the way back, however, she picked up her mother's homemade soup and headed for her boyfriend's house.

Despite the month being early April, the weather had remained slightly chilly, with temperatures seeming to peak around 55 degrees. The flu season had apparently carried over into the spring months, as well.

The gravel beneath the Honda Element's tires crunched as she pulled into the small house's driveway.

Justin lived with his mother, two brothers, and stepfather, whose family had owned the land, the site of a former chicken farm, for generations. In fact, the barn still existed and was home to his motorcycle storage garage.

As soon as she had settled the car into park, a woman with dark red hair waved at her from the open side door to the house.

Kate smiled. It was his mother.

His mother, Jeanine, was around her height with dark red hair and blue eyes that her oldest son had inherited. Although, he had also inherited her blue-yellow colorblindness, as well.

"Hey, Kate," she smiled from the door as Kate walked around the car. "How'd you do at travel?"

"Pretty good, but not my best," the young woman admitted. "My head's been elsewhere this week."

Jeanine nodded in understanding. Like Natalie Jackson, her divorce from her first husband had been a rough one. Justin was only nine, but her youngest son was barely three, not to mention the fact that her husband at the time was currently serving the second of ten months in prison and he was twelve years older than the twenty-nine year old mother of his children.

Plus, she also worked as the secretary for a firm of well-known divorce attorneys.

"Well, please tell your mother that I'm here to talk if she ever needs anything," she assured her son's girlfriend. "Come in, it's kind of cold out here. Justin's upstairs, in bed."

"If he's sleeping, I don't want to wake him…" Kate trailed off as the screen door shut behind her. "He can have the soup I brought later."

"You brought him soup?" Jeanine asked as she shut the other door, as well. "That's so sweet of you."

"Not me, my mom."

"What a sweet woman. Honey, your father is an idiot. But I suppose you already knew that."

Kate couldn't help but laugh, "I did."

"Here…" her boyfriend's mother took the paper bag from her hands and scurried into the kitchen. "I'll get this warmed up on the stove and then you can take it up to him yourself. He's been asking if you called all day."

"Really?"

"Yep," Jeanine nodded as she poured the contents of the Tupperware into a pot. "That boy misses you something fierce. He'll be glad to see you."

"Good… because I missed him."

"Knock, knock…" the blonde whispered, balancing a plastic tray in her hands in the doorway of her boyfriend's bedroom.

"Hey," he smiled through his raspy voice, using his elbows to prop himself up against his headboard.

"I would have knocked," she began as she approached his bedside, "But it's pretty difficult to balance this tray."

Justin managed a weak laugh, "I appreciate the effort. You did just fine."

"I come baring presents," Kate wiggled her eyebrows, placing the tray in his lap. "My mom's chicken soup… well, actually, it's my grandmother's recipe. So… my mom's version of my grandmother's chicken soup. Kind of. I think."

The sick teenager couldn't help but chuckle as he reached for the spoon, "Thank you… and your mom… and your grandmother."

"You're welcome… from all of us."

Despite the fact that his normally-gelled hair was matted to his face by a light sweat and his illness had left him paler than usual, it was easy to see why she had been physically attracted to him in the first place.

"I'm glad you're here, Kate," he noted as she pulled his desk chair to his bedside and sat down.

And in that moment, Kate understood exactly what John had been talking about the day before.

The blonde placed her hand lightly on his arm and smiled, "Me too."

* * *

**A/N: So it was totally NOT COOL of me to wait over two months to update this story. But now that I'm back to my normal routine, work and vacation aside, expect more updates in the near future. I plan on having this story end around September 2008 in terms of the timeframe. I don't know when I'm actually going to finish the story though. That's up in the air. I kind of know what I want to happen though.**

**But as part of my triple update, I had to get MTW done. I just had to.**

**Shameless plug for my newest one-shot. It's Jeff/OC. It's called Hollywood's Not America. I like it. I think you will too. Read, review... you know the deal! :-)**

**Shout outs: **

**Inday, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Fozzy-Floozy, Fighter37, JCJF.lover, Johnny, Simply Priceless, xtobelovedx, nobody knows cig, Queen Chaos-Hardy, goddessofthenite, Orton Addict, dj-ssdd, Cena-holic8, jada951, giftiebee, cassymae, purplefeather21, AngelsDestiny22, Pink Sugar Lips, lauraxxx, w8ing4rain, kymb92, xxHungryeyesxx, NikMick, ThatGirl54, aphotshot, and AzMiGu. **

**Wow, thank God I didn't try that all in one breath!**

**You guys are awesome. I hope you liked this chapter. I think it's a better one than I've written in a while.**

**Read and review, people!**

**Danielle**


	12. Chapter 12

Laying in bed, John couldn't help but allow his mind to race.

After talking to Kate an hour ago, and hearing about what Justin had done for their three month anniversary, he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy in his heart.

They were both eighteen years old, with so much on their plates, between work and school, not to mention family issues, yet they still found time for each other.

In another few weeks, it would be his thirty-first birthday, but unlike most of his friends, he wasn't married with children.

Sure, a few of his buddies would be bachelors for life. And that was fine.

But he wanted to get married. And maybe even have a family someday.

Yet all that Liz could talk about was her extravagant ideas for their wedding... the one she refused to set a date for.

_"Let's just enjoy our engagement for a while," _she'd say like a wind-up doll every time he brought it up. _"We'll wait until your schedule is a little lighter."_

But the truth was that his schedule would never be any lighter.

True, she had gotten spoiled because he had been out with an injury, but Liz was still holding a grudge because he had gone back to work early and doubled his work load in the process.

And if he wasn't filming "12 Rounds," sooner or later, it'd be another movie.

With a sigh, John tossed over once more.

Maybe Liz was enjoying their engagement...

But he sure as hell wasn't.

* * *

"Kate," her mother's voice called to her through the door after a knock. "You're not sleeping, are you? I need to speak to you."

"No, I'm awake," the younger Jackson replied warily as the door opened. "Mom, is something wrong?"

"Katherine," Natalie eased herself onto her daughter's bed as she sat at the computer. "The lawyer just called... he finally managed to get a court date set."

The blonde teenager straightened up in her chair, "When is it?"

"A week from tomorrow," her mother informed her. "The lawyers are preparing for it, so they told me to come and talk to you..."

"Because they wanted me to brace myself for my testimony," Kate finished for her mother. "Right?"

The older of the two nodded. "You don't have to testify if you don't want to..."

"How can I not, Mom? If I don't, his smarmy-ass lawyers will concoct some convoluted picture of your life and your marriage. I won't let him do that to you, Mom. I won't."

The natural brunette in her late forties wrapped her arms around her daughter. "When did you get to be so grown up?"

"I learned from the best."

* * *

John turned over once again, still unable to sleep that Wednesday morning.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to lay in bed at night, contemplating how he was going to salvage his relationship.

No, he was supposed to stress over work, over his money... over something other than _her_.

But as the clock hit three-thirty a.m., John knew he couldn't, yet there was one person who could help him stop.

He rolled out of bed carefully as to not awake the woman he had deemed the 'sleeping beast' beside him, more for his own sake than for hers. Creeping quietly, he grabbed his charging cellular phone off of his dresser and continued his journey downstairs.

Finally dropping down on the brown leather couch near the large aquarium, John's fingers slid over the keypad and dialed the familiar number.

After three rings, a voice answered groggily, "Hello?"

"I know it's late," the Massachusetts native replied with an apologetic sigh, "But I couldn't sleep."

"It's alright, John," Kate yawned, sitting up, her pink blanket scattering around her waist. "I know you can't help it. Are you okay?"

"Mhmm," he nodded, for his own benefit more than anything else. "I just don't know how long I can live like this anymore."

Kate contemplated his statement, then replied, "For as long as you love her."

He wiped a hand over his face and sighed once more, "I do love her. It's just that..."

"She drives you crazy?" the teenager offered with a chuckle.

On the other end of the phone, he rolled his eyes. "Something like that."

"Look, John..." Kate offered compassionately, "I know that sometimes, people just fall out of love. My parents, your parents... it happens, but you can't hesitate to take that leap just because you're afraid of what could happen. Look what happened with our families. Out of your parents' 'failed' marriage came five wonderful boys, one of whom happens to be a world-famous superstar in the WWE. Out of my parents, came me. Granted, I'm not much now, but someday, I'll be something, I'll be someone."

"You're wrong," John quickly corrected her, leaning backwards to lie down, still clutching the phone to his ear.

"Excuse me?" she asked rather quickly, taken aback by his brash response.

"You _are_ someone, Kate," he assured her with a soft smile on his side of the conversation, silently wishing she could she his face. "If it wasn't for you, I might have fallen apart by now."

The blonde couldn't help but be flattered. "John, you did fine for thirty years of your life before you even met me. You would have done just fine if we'd never spoken."

"I wouldn't have fought so hard on my way back from surgery," he explained. "Sometimes I think that the best thing that I ever did was open that letter. Maybe my surgery was a blessing in disguise. If I hadn't gotten hurt, I never would have met you, Kate."

Kate Jackson was absolutely speechless. In fact, it was the single nicest thing that anyone had ever said to her.

But then she stopped.

If the best thing that ever happened to John was opening that letter...

Then where did that leave Liz?

* * *

"So what time do you need me to be at the Izod Center tonight?"

John glanced at the schedule on his cell phone for a moment and the responded, "If you could get here at three this afternoon, that'd be great."

"Uhh... Katherine?" her mother's voice traveled up the stairs. "Someone's here to see you."

"John, hold on a second," she halted him mid-sentence and pulled the phone away from her ear as she yelled back to her mother, "Who is it?"

Her hazel eyes glanced at the clock, which read 5:15 am.

It was 5:15 am on a Saturday and Justin had work at 7 am.

So who could possibly be at her door, this early in the morning?

Natalie hesitated and then replied, "Your father."

"Kate?" the phone on the floor echoed. "Kate? Blondie, you there?!"

Her blonde mane shook as she tried to knock herself back into reality, "What? Huh?"

"I can hear you breathing... I can hear you talking..."

"Oh shit," Kate reached for the phone on the floor and placed it to her ear. "Sorry, John. I just dropped by phone."

"I could tell," the wrestler laughed. "So who is at the door, Kate?"

"Um..." she rubbed her hand over her mouth. "It's my father."

* * *

Descending down the hallway, the blonde caught sight of her father, sitting on the mocha-colored sofa for the first time in what seemed like a year, at the least.

With graying temples adorning his jet black hair, he rose to his feet, plastering a smile on his face, "Katherine."

Her face immediately soured, "Don't you 'Katherine' me. What do you want?"

"Tsk, tsk," he clicked his tongue at her with a stern stare. "Is that any way to speak to your father?"

"That's the way I speak to the man who all but deserted my mother and I," she seethed back at him in disgust. "I'm surprised you had the audacity to come around at all. Then again, you had the audacity to do things ten times worse to us than this, so why should I be surprised?"

"After all this time, you can't even say hello?"

"And you can't even find the time to call," she retorted bitterly. "What was so important that you decided to show up here at seven 'o clock in the morning."

"Katie, it's 7:15," Matthew corrected her.

"Considering you want something, and don't try to tell me that you don't because it's quite apparent that you do, I would NOT be correcting me right now," Kate closed her eyes to try and compose herself.

"Katie... I don't want anything from you."

"Oh, really?" she countered with an arched eyebrow.

"No..." he trailed off and then locked his blue eyes on hers. "I need something from you."

"I KNEW IT!" Kate screamed shrilly. "God, I don't hope you need an organ or something because I could never, in good conscious, turn you down."

"Katherine Jackson!" her father bellowed. "How dare you!"

"How dare I what? How dare I assume that you came here for the ACTUAL reason you came here?" she countered in disgust. "You need me not to come to the hearing, don't you?"

He nodded slowly, but never took his eyes off of his daughter, "I'd prefer you didn't."

She pursed her lips and shook her head in disbelief, "You know, I can't remember a single birthday card in which Mom didn't have to sign it from both of you... or a day when you took me out for a Daddy/Daughter date. Hell, in the last five years, I can't recall a single night in which you came home at the time you said you would, in the last three years, a single week in which there wasn't a night you didn't come home at all." Kate continued her advance towards her father, an icy stare emanating from her eyes, a flush of anger in her cheeks. "I don't have a single happy memory of you since the time I scored the winning goal on my middle school soccer game when I was thirteen and you were clapping in the stands, but had only attended because Mom had forced you to go... and then you didn't come to a single game after that, including the New Jersey state finals that I won in the last fifteen seconds of the game. And when I looked into the stands after that goal, I didn't see you there. And the whole ride home, all she could say was how sorry she was that you didn't show up like you had promised," She added, biting down on her lip slightly as tears stung at the corners of her eyes. "In the six months that have passed since you 'officially' walked out, and I use that term rather loosely, I haven't received a single phone call from you. Not on Chanukah, not on New Years, not on Valentine's Day... nothing. Not when I got accepted to my first college or when I got accepted to the last, or even when I finally got my first boyfriend. You didn't even so much as call to see how I was doing after my surgery. You simply left all of your baggage at the front door when you last walked out it. And I will never forgive you for that... EVER." Her voice was beginning to crack from the tears threatening to fall. "And you want me not to testify so that I can prevent my father from losing half of everything he owns. Well, guess what? As far as I'm concerned, half isn't enough to compensate for the hell you've put me, that you've put my mother through all of these years. You are NOT my father. My father walked out on me so long ago that I was too young to remember. And you know what? I'll be more than happy to tell the judge that. Now... GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE."

"It's still my..."

"Not if I have anything to say about it in court," she cut him off fiercely, gritting her teeth. "Leave before I call the cops and say you were threatening me. Get out."

Matthew's face went blank for the first time she could remember and Kate stared at him as he walked down the hallway and out the door, the white wood finally shutting behind him.

Immediately, she raced up the stairs and into her room, dragging her backpack out of her closet.

Hastily, she threw her books and notebooks onto her bed, shaking out any remaining school supplies from inside.

She forcefully pulled her drawers opening, tossing whatever makeup she could find in her frazzled state into the main pocket, followed by the outfit she had planned on wearing to Raw that night.

From her still-open closet, Kate pulled a navy hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans off their hangers, sliding them over her body after she had stripped off her pajama pants and shirt.

She slipped on a pair of socks and then her sneakers before grabbing her pocketbook off of her chair and running down the stairs. A few minute later, she found herself in the driver's seat of her Honda Element, heading down Route 9 towards the Izod Center.

* * *

About forty minutes later, the car pulled into the parking lot of the Hilton across the street from the arena.

After parking it in a slip, she reached into her bag and pulled out some roll-on perfume and a stick of gum, so that she didn't smell horrible in addition to being a mess.

By the time she approached the front desk, at 6:45 in the morning, she first realized that she didn't even know what room John was staying in.

"Good morning and welcome to the Hilton," the blonde gentleman at the front desk, who didn't look a day over forty, greeted her. "How can I help you."

"I need to know what room John Cena is staying in," she informed him, then realized the words that had come out of her mouth. "Okay, I know you can't give me that information. For all you know, I could be a crazy stalker."

_And now I'm sounding like an idiot to boot._

"Can you call his room and tell him that Kate Jackson is here to see him? And ask him if it's okay for you to tell me his room number?" she rubbed a hand over her face. "It's incredibly urgent."

"I'll try his room now, miss," the gentleman nodded and typed a few words into the computer then picked up the phone. As he spoke on the line, she could hardly even focus enough to pay attention to what he was saying. "Sure, I'll send her up. Have a good day."

"Did you speak with him?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, I did..." he trailed off and produced a piece of paper on the counter, then scribbled a few numbers on it and showed it to her. "This is his room number."

_614._

Kate nodded and the man crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash.

"Thank you so much," she exhaled deeply and made her way to the elevators.

* * *

She knocked fervently at the door, impatiently waiting for him to answer.

Kate leaned her head against the door and whispered, "Please, John. Open the door."

Again, she took to knocking... and mid-motion, the door finally peeled open and a blue jeans clad John Cena appeared behind it. Immediately, she paced inside.

"Kate? Are you al..." he could barely get the words out after closing the door as she flung herself into his bare chest and broke down into tears.

"I-I'm so sorry for sh-sh-showing up like this," she managed to squeak out between sniffles. "But I n-needed to get out of th-there and I had n-nowhere else to g-go."

"Shhh," John soothed her softly, stroking her long blonde hair. "It's okay, Kate... you don't have to say anything."

He knew what it was like to experience parents divorcing, as he had gone through it himself. But his parents' divorce had been amicable and much cleaner than Kate's parents' divorce had been thus far.

And way back when, he had needed someone to be there for him... yet all he found was a distraction in Liz.

But he hadn't needed a distraction, he needed someone to tell him that everything would be okay.

"I know it may not seem like it now," he began, pulling her closer to his chest with his strong arms as the tears began coming harder, "But I promise you, Kate... everything's going to be alright. I'm here for you... and I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

**A/N: So I know it has been a while, but with my first semester of college looming, and my move-in day on Saturday morning, I've been a little pre-occupied and frazzled as of late.**

**My goal is to update SAR III and Only One before the end of the weekend, maybe make a little boredom project out of it. Lucky for me, I don't have any early morning classes, with three days starting at 2:50pm or later, one starting at 11am, and Fridays off, so I should be able to fit in some updates.**

**I think that this chapter shows just how strong Kate can be, yet how vulnerable she can be at the same time. And I think there's something about that which John finds incredibly endearing and sees a lot of himself in.**

**Speaking of Cena... another four month wait on the horizon. But I have faith he'll be back sooner. And I hope so... I have a show on December 27th to attend!**

**Anyway... that's all for now. I appreciate EVERYONE's reviews, especially...**

**Fighter37, xXBXx, JCJF.lover, PiNk SugaR LipS, Queen Chaos-Hardy, Westfan, Cena-holic8, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, PunkRocDivaxX, Fozzy-Floozy, goddessofthenite, CenaFan1395, StarSixtyNine, dj-ssdd, w8ing4rain, Mrs Bass-Malfoy, xtobelovedx, mcena99, OryonUK, giftiebee, Hayley Jean, and jada951.**

**Thanks for your support... please read and review!**

**Danielle**


	13. Chapter 13

Standing in the small corridor that separated his living quarters from the outside hallway, John knew the scene before him looked bad.

In fact, it looked VERY bad.

Kate was curled up beneath the sheets of his bed in her jeans and an extra tee shirt of his. Yet, to the unassuming eye, she was only covered from the waist up. Then again, the tear stains of black mascara turned to liquid didn't exactly lend well to the situation, either.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he noted that at that moment, the shirt appeared to be at least five sizes too big for her frame. A month or two ago, it would have been a mere four sizes too large.

And it was at that moment, John couldn't resist himself. He knew that he shouldn't because if someone were to walk in, the scene would be horrific.

He was a thirty-one year old man. She was an eighteen year old high school senior.

It wasn't hard to make the connection.

But it was HIS room… and no one could come in without him knowing.

So John Cena did what he wanted… still sleep deprived, he pulled off his jeans, replaced them with a pair of shorts, and slid underneath the blanket beside Kate.

* * *

Kate's hazel eyes burned with exhaustion as she struggled to shake the sleep from her weary eyes.

Last night was a blur.

Out of nowhere, her father had shown up at the house, making demands that she was in no way prepared for.

A twinge of anger resonated through her body… he had no right to ask anything of her. Not anymore.

In her frustration, she had sped down Route 9 and the Garden State Turnpike at a rate that was blatantly illegal, but it seemed as though the New Jersey Police Department understood her need.

They weren't even in sight.

By the time she had gotten to the hotel, Kate's lips were moving on their own. She couldn't even remember the words that had left her mouth.

And now… she had no idea as to where the hell she was.

All of a sudden, the bed she was laying in, lost in her thoughts, shifted.

Warily, Kate glanced over to her left… and found John Cena fast asleep beside her.

Last night couldn't have been that hazy… could it have?

* * *

"Hey, Kate," the semi-compassionate Randy Orton greeted her, his arm propped against the doorframe.

"Hi," she replied with a forced smile that he instantly saw past.

Concern washed over his face instantly. "Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. When did you get here? What happened? Are you- wait a second. Are you wearing _John's _clothes?!?"

The eighteen year old's gaze flickered downwards to her attire: a pair of oversized basketball shorts and an equally baggy Red Sox tee.

"Shit," she winced, her mouth slightly open. "I think so."

Randy peered over her shoulder with ease and noticed John's sleeping form, curled up in the large hotel room bed.

His jaw clenched and he slid past Kate, making a bee-line for the older wrestler.

"Randy!" the blonde hissed through grit teeth. "Leave him alone."

Randy leered over him. "Cena, get up."

The Massachusetts native groaned and twisted around in his blanket, attempting to avoid reality for a few more moments.

"I said, get up, John," the gravel-voiced man repeated.

"Randy…" Kate protested and rushed over, placing a hand on his arm. "Please, let him sleep. I don't think he did anything."

His head whipped around to his left, where she was standing. "You don't _think_ he did anything? Oh, hell no. Now he's getting up."

Instantly, he slid his hands under the mattress and flipped it over, causing the older wrestler to tumble to the floor with an incredibly loud thud.

"Randy!"

"What the fuck?" John groaned from the carpet, rubbing the side of his head that connected with the floor as he hit the ground.

"Kate is wearing your clothes, Cena… " He walked with ease around the heap on the floor and towered over his friend. "And I want to know why."

"Nothing happened, Orton," John replied, shaking his head as he struggled to his feet.

Randy scoffed at the notion, "Yeah, because Kate just randomly decided to wear your clothing to bed last night."

"No, Randy, it wasn't like that…" the blonde in the room assured him, reaching for his arm. "Really."

"You don't need to protect him, Kate."

"You assume that's what I'm doing…"

"Kate," John addressed her as he pushed the mattress back onto the bed. "You don't have to tell him anything. Randy knows nothing happened last night."

"But something DID happen last night, John. It's just not what he thinks."

Randy's sapphire gaze hardened to a dark azure color as his eyes wheeled towards John. "I'll kill you."

"My father came to my house last night, Randy!" Kate blurted out.

His head snapped around. "What?"

"My father came to my house last night," she repeated slowly and sank down onto the recently-righted bed. "And I didn't know where to go because my mom wasn't home… so I came here."

"And she stayed the night because she didn't want to go back home, so I gave her a shirt and a pair of my gym shorts to sleep in," John explained further, the pain in his head finally subsiding.

"I probably don't remember all of it because I was just really upset, Randy. I was just flooded with so many emotions… pain, anger, sadness. It was just too much for me to deal with, I don't even remember driving here. It was like I was on auto-pilot," she sighed and ran a hand through her caramel-colored locks. "Do you understand what I mean, Randy?"

"Yeah, I do," he replied with a deep exhale. "Listen, Kate… do you mind if I talk to John for a little while? Just us guys?"

"No problem. I could probably use a shower, anyway."

"Here," Randy began, searching through his pocket for his keycard and once he retrieved it, he flipped it to his friend. "You can use my shower."

"Just grab a shirt from my bag," John instructed her. "I hope you don't mind wearing the same jeans as yesterday 'cause I highly doubt that any of mine would fit you."

The blonde chuckled lightly as she pulled a green Celtics tee from his suitcase and flung it over her shoulder, along with her jeans. "Thanks, John."

John nodded silently and the duo watched as she retreated out the door, closing the metal panel behind her.

* * *

They lingered in absolute quiet for a few minutes before the younger man turned to the older one.

"I didn't mean it, you know. When I said I'd kill you…" he started, a strong hand reaching up to rub the side of his jaw. "I didn't really mean it."

"Yes, you did," John stated plainly. "But that's okay. I'm glad she has two protectors instead of one."

"About that…" Randy trailed off, his hand sliding down his face and over his shoulder to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Maybe… you should cool it a little bit."

"Says the guy that just overturned my bed because he thought I slept with her," John snorted, rolling his eyes.

This time it was Randy who did the eye-rolling. "I'm serious, John. Sometimes you're a little _too_ protective of her."

John arched an eyebrow at him. "If there's something you're trying to tell me, Orton, just come out and say it."

"John, I know you care about Kate a lot," he sighed quite audibly. "But while this friendship you have with her may seem perfectly normal to you, it's not. You've been engaged to Liz for how long now? A year? And you're no closer to setting a date than you were the day before you proposed. It just… looks bad, John. It looks really bad. And the fact that at first sign of distress, you hop on your white horse and play knight in shining armor, doesn't help your case."

"Wait a minute," John halted him, setting his jaw. "Are you saying… do you think I've got a thing for Kate?"

"I'm just saying that if you don't, it sure doesn't look that way to the rest of us."

His blue eyes grew clouded over as he laughed. "You've really lost it this time, Orton. Hah. Me… in love with Kate. Good one."

"I understand why she'd come to you when she feared her father," Randy explained slowly. "It's normal to want to be protected from something or someone you're afraid of. Especially, when you, John, are the one person he doesn't know about yet. It's a way to protect everyone else she loves from being harmed while protecting herself in the process. But I know for a fact that you talk to her more than you talk to your own fiancée and she talks to you more than she speaks to her own boyfriend. That's not how it's supposed to be."

"So what are you asking me to do, Randy? Stop talking to her?"

"No," he answered quickly, shaking his head. "I want you to let her be a normal eighteen year old and deal with her normal eighteen year old problems. She has to learn to do it on her own, with the people she loves at her side. If she runs to you for everything, Kate is going to be destroyed when you and Liz get married because in your new life together, there isn't going to be much room for her in it. You and I both know that Liz is not too fond of Kate. It's not like that's going to change anytime soon." Randy sighed, knowing what he was about to say was going to sting. "Face it John, no matter what you do… you're going to emotionally cripple her."

* * *

"Yeah, Mom… I'm fine," Kate assured her mother for the thousandth time over the phone. "It just freaked me out, that's all. I locked all of the doors and came to be with John."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Natalie pressed her further. "I can fly home tonight if you need me to."

"No, no," her daughter shook her off. "Nana and Poppi haven't seen you in a long time, plus… you deserve the vacation. It's beautiful in Florida."

Her mother sighed heavily. "Yes, it's beautiful. But I'm still worried."

"You know John won't let anything happen to me."

"Yes, I know. I guess, if I had to pick any place that you would have gone to, I would have expected it to be Justin's house. But I actually feel a little better knowing you're with John and there's two hundred-something pounds of muscle between you and your father."

"Good… listen, Mom. I have to run. I need to call Justin and fill him in on everything. I might stay here an extra day just to be safe and I don't want him to think I'm bailing on him tomorrow."

"Alright, Kate. Take care of yourself and please call me later, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," she agreed with a nod that was mainly for her own benefit. "I love you. Bye."

* * *

"Dude, your phone is ringing!"

"I'm in the middle of something here," the eighteen year old groaned to his thirteen year old brother on the opposite side of the room, desperately trying to beat his high score on Guitar Hero.

The younger brother checked the caller idea and then threw the phone at the older one's back.

"Hey, Justin… it's your girlfriend…" he sang teasingly, his voice cracking slightly.

"Can you _please_ go through puberty already and leave me alone?" Justin rolled his eyes as he paused the video game and flipped open his phone.

"You know you don't want me to… because then, I'll be taller than you. Oh wait, I already am!"

"Hey, Kate," Justin ignored his brother and answered the phone. "What's up?"

"Listen…" her voice calmly asked him as he began to exit the room. "I don't want you to flip out. Promise me you won't do anything stupid?"

He winced. "You know that when it comes to you, I can't promise that."

"Then promise me you'll try," she answered, a little too quickly in his opinion.

He nodded slowly and agreed. "Alright… I'll try."

She took a deep breath before breaking the news. "My father came by my house last night and basically told me that if I didn't testify on his behalf at the hearing, he'd drag out proceedings as long as he could so that Mom could never get anything."

While Justin's parents divorce had been damaging to him and his brother, as the splitting up of families often was, they had at least divorced amicably. Which meant that as painful as it had initially been, they were saved the trauma of warring parents.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Kate.

"Your father is an asshole," he muttered coldly.

"I know."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm better," she replied honestly.

"Do you want me to come and get you?"

"No, I'm with John."

Justin was immediately confused. "You're with Cena? How?"

"He's in East Rutherford for Raw tonight, remember? I told you last month."

"Oh, right," he lied through his teeth because truth be told, he tried to avoid listening to her when it came to the wrestler. "Sorry, I think I'm kind of angry with your dad right now, so I'm not remembering much at the moment."

"You could come tonight, you know."

"And ruin your bonding time with Cena? Nah, I'll take a pass. Maybe next time around, whenever that is."

Clutching the receiver to her ear, Kate smiled. "He'd like that. Listen, I have to take a shower and get myself together. I'll call you after the show."

"No problem, babe. Have fun and be safe. If something happens, call me. I can get there in less than an hour."

"I will," she agreed. "I'll talk to you later. Bye, Justin."

"Bye, Kate."

* * *

Justin flipped the cell phone onto his couch and sank down onto the opposite end.

A part of him was incredibly jealous of John Cena. It wasn't why most guys were jealous of the wrestler/actor, but then again, most guys' girlfriends weren't best friends with him.

He loved Kate a lot, more than he ever expected he could.

But as of late, there was a part of him that was beginning to wonder whether or not he'd have to live in John's shadow forever.

Because while he expected to be number two on her list of priorities, behind her mother and her best friend, Julia…

He never expected to be second to John Cena.

* * *

After Randy had left, John remained seated on the bed.

He was right, he and Liz weren't moving forward anytime soon. But that didn't mean he didn't _want_ to. It just meant that _she_ didn't want to yet.

He wondered if everyone really saw him and Kate like Randy claimed they did, an almost thirty-one year old who was way too protective of an eighteen year old high school girl for it to be innocent.

Kate was more to him than that. She was the only female friend he had left, a person to confide in about his problems who he knew for certain wouldn't tell anyone else.

Yet, he still had Liz.

And Kate was certainly no Liz.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's been forever, but winter break is coming around and that'll mean a lot more updates. I'll be home for around nine days by myself (well, I'm puppy sitting, so I'm technically not by myself) because my parents are driving to Florida and I refuse to be stuck in a car for 22 hours with my eight year old sister. Plus, unlike the last time we drove, when I was 14, I can drive outside of state lines and I'm not in the mood to drive down I-95 for five hours straight.**

**Oh… and Happy belated-Turkey Day and Black Friday. I was on line at Kohl's for my 80 dollar GPS at 3:30 this morning and was 7****th**** in line. Well, $225 later (aside from my numerous coupons that saved me $114.78) … most of my holiday shopping is done! And I got myself two dollar scarves and gloves in EVERY COLOR! It was like 20 bucks, when a scarf and a pair of gloves normally costs that much. As you can tell, I'm on a door-buster high!**

**However, on a more relevant we're now officially more than halfway through More Than Words. Truthfully, I've had the first fifth of this chapter for about a month, but it took John's PPV and Raw returns to inspire me. **

**I'm pretty proud of this chapter, as it's definitely a return to my insight-driven chapters as opposed to my dialogue-driven chapters. I must admit, I like the former one better… it means I'm more inspired.**

**It's definitely going to start to get interesting as the relationship between Kate and Justin is explored in more depth, while Liz and John's relationship starts to take a turn for the worse, as you can see it's starting to.**

**At this point, the story is in early April… but it will end in late May. Not too much time left to go.**

**And piggybacking on my statement about inspiration, John's return has inspired me to continue work on my other Cena story, She's a Rebel III: Cupid's Chokehold. I'm aiming for a double update this long weekend, so half is done in MTW.**

**Shout-outs: miles89, xXBXx, w8ing4rain, Johnny, xtobelovedx, ThatGirl54, dj-ssdd, Fozzy-Floozy, 3.14, Kayla SMiley, OryonUK, .Love, Fighter37, GirlsLikeBoys, Enigmatic Lotus Lead, Teufelkind, Cena-holic8, mcena99, galloptome, CraftyTink529, ShannonxMoore'sxLoverx, and dreamin'BIG!**

**I have to say though, it's pretty funny that RIGHT AFTER John's injury was the last time I updated and my only update since then came the week of his return. Hmm. Odd.**

**Well, I missed you guys a lot, so I hope you enjoy this juicy chapter.**

**Read and review all!**

**It's good to be back,**

**Danielle**


	14. Chapter 14

Kate rested her back against the headboard of the bed and pulled her knees to her chest. "When am I going to meet her?"

"Meet who?" John replied, not entirely paying attention to her as he refolded his gym shorts and place them in his suitcase.

"Liz," she answered him nonchalantly, causing him to drop the top half of the suitcase immediately.

His eyes avoided hers as he responded, "I didn't know you wanted to."

Her hazel orbs bore into his suspiciously. "I do, John. She's going to be your wife soon and I've heard a lot about her, but I haven't met her."

"You can meet her at the wedding," John muttered, zipping up the sides of his luggage.

"John," Kate rolled her eyes at him and let her legs relax on the bed. "Stop being ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous, Kate," he countered with a shake of his head and opened up his laptop.

As the muscular Massachusetts native sat down on the edge of the bed, she peered over his shoulder. "Did she send you that email?

John nodded and quickly minimized it. "Yes."

The blonde pushed herself forward until she sat beside him. "Can I read it?"

He shook his head and continued surfing on the web.

"Is it that inappropriate?"

"No."

"You won't let me meet her until the wedding, so can I at least read it?"

"No."

The young woman quickly grew frustrated and folded her arms over her chest. "Look, Cena. I've told you practically everything about me and I trust you more than I trust my own boyfriend. I know that we've only been friends for about six months, but I do."

"Kate," John sighed heavily and then turned to face her. "It has nothing to do with trust. For that matter, it has nothing to do with you."

"Then what does it have to do with?"

_Dear John,_

_I wanted to write you this email so that the first thing you did when you got up was check your inbox and think of me. I was going to call, but I had an appointment at the salon early this morning and figured that at nine in the morning, the best present I could give you was sleep. Well, for now, anyway._

_I cannot believe that all these years have passed already, yet I am so excited for the day that we are married and can cement the fact that we will officially spend the rest of your birthdays together._

_If you wake up after two, please call me. I should be home from shopping by then._

_I love you… and Happy Birthday, baby._

_Love always,_

_Liz_

"You must hate her now, too."

"I never said that…"

"But you were thinking it," John cut her off abruptly.

She shook her head, her blonde locks flying with it. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"Oh." His gaze dropped again, this time to his sneakers planted firmly on the carpeted floor of the hotel room. "That."

Kate smiled at him. "Yes, that! I'm sure Randy knows it's your birthday. How come I didn't?"

John shrugged. "Getting older stopped being cool when I turned the big 3-0."

Suddenly, Kate backed away from him, her face falling. "I make you feel old, don't I?"

"It's not about you…"

"Yes, it is. This is my fault. You didn't expect me to be here today." she trailed off, sliding off the opposite side of the bed.

As she began to pass him, John reached out and caught her arm in his much larger hand. "Stop that."

"I'm going home," Kate stated simply, almost coldly as she tried to wrench her arm away.

He stood up suddenly, catching her off-guard. "Then I'm going with you." As she was about to protest, he spoke before she could. "I'm not handing you to your father on a silver platter, Kate. Let me come with you."

She studied him for a moment and then her resolute attitude began to subside. "Fine, but on one condition."

"Name it," John nodded, her resistance slacking off.

"Randy comes with us."

* * *

Begrudgingly, John agreed to Kate's caveat and it was mainly because of his guilt.

He felt awful that he hadn't told her it was his birthday and even worse that she was convinced he hadn't said anything because their age difference bothered him.

Moreover, he wouldn't even bring her to see Liz.

Liz. His fiancée. The future Mrs. John Cena.

The more he thought about both women, the worse he began to feel. While he wasn't exactly certain as to why he didn't want introduce Kate to Liz, John knew the real reason he didn't want Liz to meet his friend.

He was ashamed of the woman he'd introduce as his future wife.

* * *

"Of all the conditions you could have given him, why in the hell did you pick me?"

"Because between the two of you," Kate began to reply, a hint of a smile on her glossy lips. "Your egos would take up so much space in the house, my father wouldn't be able to get past the doorway."

Randy rolled his blue eyes. "Very nice, Miss Jackson."

"Thanks so much, Mr. Orton," she returned his sarcasm. "I'm glad you enjoy my wit."

The Missouri-born wrestler turned his eyes towards the slightly moist glass window on his right "Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

For another twenty minutes, they were silent. Kate's focus remained on the highway and Randy's stayed fixated on the landscape passing him by, occasionally disrupted by the change of radio station over the speakers.

It was as though they were playing the quiet game.

And if they had been, it was Randy who would have lost.

His muscular arm extended towards this console and turned off the radio.

"Kate," his gravelly voice cut through the deafening silence. "Can I talk to you about something?"

She rolled her eyes, but kept them focused on the road, her hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "What is it _now, _Randy?"

"Look," Randy began with a deep breath, twisting his body around and pressing his back against the window so that he could face her. "I know that when it comes to sharing your inner most thoughts with someone, you talk to John. And when John has a problem with Liz or with me, even, he comes to you. I was hoping that I could talk to you about a problem I'm having with John."

Kate tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear after stopping at the light. "Okay, what do you want to talk about, Randy?"

"I'm worried about him, Kate," Randy admitted with a sigh. "He barely speaks to his fiancée anymore."

The young woman scrunched up her nose in confusion. "I thought you didn't like her."

The muscular man chuckled beside her, "You're right, I don't. But John is one of my best friends and I want him to be happy. And when he got back with her, I wasn't thrilled because I knew how she had acted around him in the past."

"You've known him that long?" she asked him, almost incredulously.

"No." He shook his head. "I haven't known him long enough to know it first hand, but I have known John long enough to have him confide in me many aspects of his life that he wouldn't tell most people," the Missouri-born wrestler added.

Kate nodded in understanding. "So why do you want him to speak to her more often?"

"Because, whether or not I like Liz, she makes John happy," Randy answered honestly, slightly defeated. "And you don't know how lonely he was, Kate. In the beginning, he had his fun on his road just like the rest of us, yet slowly, but surely, we all started to move on. Paul married Stephanie, Dave got back together with Angie, Ric married Tiffany, and then Samantha and I got married. And John was left out in the cold…" he trailed off, rubbing a hand over his shorn hair. "But then, he proposed to Liz and we were all finally at the same place in our lives…"

"And he wasn't so lonely anymore," Kate finished for him, her eyes still locked ahead on the straightaway.

Randy nodded and then continued, looking down at his hands. "The funny thing about life is that everything is temporary in one way or another. Whether it's life itself, the people who are present in your own, or feelings that were once so strong you could feel them on your fingertips. But those feelings…" Randy trailed off and then shook his head sadly. "They fade."

Her right foot switched to the brake pedal as they approached a traffic light. "You think John's not in love with her anymore?"

"I'm not certain, but there _is_ a part of me that's really starting to think so."

She shrugged. "Maybe their relationship is somewhat of a vicious circle."

The older of the pair contemplated the notion for a moment, then decided against it. "No, I don't think that's it. I think that she came back into his life at the right time. Their relationship is one of convenience. Liz gets the rich husband and lavish life she always wanted, the one she had originally left him in search of in the first place."

The young woman began chewing on the inside of her cheek. "And what does John get?"

Randy glanced up at her for a moment, his deep sapphire eyes a little lighter than normal. It was almost as though he felt guilty for the path his friend was on.

Then his gaze flicked back to his hands as he played with the ring on his left hand. "The feeling that he's no longer on the outside looking in."

Immediately, she picked up on his uncertainty. "And you think something has happened to make him feel differently?"

"Steph and Paul are working on baby number two and Sam and I are waiting on our own baby…" he finally looked up at her as they pulled into her driveway, with John nowhere in sight. "So where does that leave him?"

Her hazel eyes fluttered shut, blonde hair pressed up against the headrest, as everything hit her all at once.

In high school and college, Liz was his sun and everything revolved around her. When John decided to pursue something that didn't fit into her seven year plan, she left and he was heartbroken. His first and only love had dumped him because he wanted to follow his dreams. What kind of human being does that to the person who is the love of their life?

He probably was wounded for a long time after that, damaged to the extent that he thought he was beyond repair. So he figured he'd just settle for whatever rolled his way. As long as he was safe, what did it matter? He was never going to find the love of his life again, so he might as well enjoy himself. It wasn't like he was the only one.

But then, he was. And suddenly, he was older… and everyone around him was settling down. So for the first time since he was starting out, he felt the familiar burn of emptiness in his heart…

Emptiness that could only be filled by one person.

So when he went to a bar by himself after a show in Florida and saw her again, he thought it was fate. And they reconnected again…

And John wasn't pressed up against the glass anymore.

But John didn't really love Liz the way he had the first time around. He would never outright admit it to himself, but deep down, he knew it wasn't the same. It'd never be the same again, no matter how much he tried to convince himself.

The hole in his heart was no smaller, if anything, it was bigger, and he'd only been temporarily distracted from the burn.

Even if he did manage to fully believe that he no longer loved his fiancée, he would never tell his friends out of fear he'd be right back where he started.

And the further they moved on, the further he'd fall behind.

Perhaps that was why he was postponing the wedding, never really setting a date. He'd be taking a step forward and only one more level of catch up was ahead: children.

John would be bringing children into the world with a woman he didn't love for his own selfish purposes. And what kind of man would that make him?

In his mind, he was running out of time. He was running out of roads to travel and the exit doors were rapidly closing in on him, as were the walls.

It all came down to time, didn't it?

And it was while she was contemplating the value of time itself that Kate made sense of why he was being so reserved and hesitant around her that morning.

John didn't want to acknowledge the fact that it was his birthday because if he did, it meant that he was another year older and in his mind, the inevitable was coming closer…

Some day soon, John Cena would have to marry the woman he had long since fallen out of love with… and the woman who wasn't his soulmate after all.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was going to go somewhere completely different once Randy got into the car with Kate and had their talk. But it was as I was listening to Joshua Radin that I was inspired to go beyond the surface and try to pick away at John's psyche. I guess I've been in a psychoanalytical mood lately.**

**I know it has been a very long time since I updated, but I was faced with a mental block concerning this story. I wasn't really sure how I wanted the story to get to the ending. I have no intention of making a sequel to this story as of this moment in time. Perhaps, somewhere down the road, we'll check back in with all of the characters, but the end will most likely be the end.**

**As a result, I'm trying to give Kate and John the time that they deserve and make it all just right, if that makes any sense.**

**I'm in the right direction, I know it. But there are various loose ends concerning both characters that need to be tied up. This may be shorter than my She's a Rebel trilogy in terms of chapter length. It may be longer than the 21 chapters I seem to have made a habit of in each.**

**Either way, I'm going to do everything in my power to keep this story the story you fell in love with from the very beginning. **

**I have big plans for everyone. Some bigger than others.**

**But I have a feeling that you're going to be happy with how it turns out.**

**Danielle**


	15. Chapter 15

"Kate, is something wrong?"

Kate's eyes cleared up again and snapped back to focus as she stared back at him. "What?"

John's sapphire eyes stared at her intently. "That the third time I've caught you staring at me in the last hour. "

"I've just been zoning out," she tried to cover quickly. "You just happen to be sitting across from me in the swivel chair."

He nodded and dropped the topic of conversation, but John was nowhere near convinced by her answer. At all.

"I wonder where Randy is with the food," John asked aloud, spinning himself around slowly. "I'm starving."

"You're making me dizzy," Kate laughed at him as he completed another revolution. "I don't know if I want to eat anymore."

A boyish smile spread across John's face. "More breadsticks for me!"

"I cannot believe we made him drive twenty minutes away so that you could have Olive Garden!"

"Umm… it's my birthday." The wrestler walked over to the bed on which she sat and tapped the side of her temple. "Helloooo."

Kate reached up and rapped on the side of his forehead repeatedly.

"Stop that!"

She arched an eyebrow at him and pushed him backwards a few inches. "Not so much fun, now is it?"

"You're not allowed to annoy the birthday boy!" John countered with a childish pout as he backed up a few steps.

Kate's eyes bulged as he neared the back of her door, nearly stepping on white plastic draped on the floor. "John, don't move!"

The muscular Massachusetts native halted dead in his tracks. "What did I do?"

She shook her head vehemently as she hopped to her feet and swept back the plastic against the door. "No, nothing. You just almost… nevermind."

John's head turned to follow her actions and his eyes landed on the white garment bag hanging on the back of her door. "Kate, what's that?"

"Oh, nothing…"

"Kate," he stated firmly. "What is that?"

She sighed and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "My prom dress."

"Your prom dress?"

"Yes…" she replied with a slow nod. "You know… prom. Fancy dresses, guys in suits, ridiculous-looking corsages, limos, girls trying to out-slut each other… prom."

"I know what a prom is," he retorted with a scowl. "You forgot a drunken weekend at the beach."

Kate flashed him a smirk. "And you forgot that I don't drink."

"Yet."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. Yet."

"So…" he trailed off, staring at his shoes.

She repeated after him, "So…"

John finally came up with a question. "When is it?"

"May 30th," the blonde answered, sitting back down in her chair.

"Are you excited?" he asked, looking to gauge the truth by the look on her face.

A grin flashed across Kate's face. "Yes! It's like my debut… at least in my mind."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Debut?"

She gulped. Suddenly she wasn't as eager as she'd been to talk before. "Um, yeah… no one at school believes that I have a boyfriend. So, it's my way of flipping them off."

John was stunned. How could teenagers be so cruel? He knew that life hadn't been kind to her in the last year and just when things were starting to settle for her, those stupid brats had to give her a hard time.

His fists involuntarily clenched in response to his thoughts and his did his best to hide them behind his back. "That's fucking ridiculous."

"It's whatever," she said softly, fidgeting with her fingers. "Nothing I haven't gotten used to in the last fifteen years."

"Still… you don't deserve it, Kate," he assured. "No one deserves it."

"Yeah, well… the joke is going to be on all of them. As long as Justin and I don't break up before then."

John's head shot up at her words."What are you talking about… 'before then?'"

"Grub!" a gravelly voice bellowed from downstairs.

The blonde teen didn't even miss a beat as she rushed out of the slightly open door. "Coming!"

Clearly, the conversation was over.

And Kate Jackson couldn't be happier.

* * *

Dinner was pretty routine for the three friends, complete with food flung across the table and sarcasm flying between Randy and Kate.

Looking on, John couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. As much as they would never want to admit it, they acted as though they were brother and sister.

Thinking about it, he felt a slight pang of jealousy at the fact. But it was momentary, as he shook it off a few seconds later.

He had nothing to envy. Kate wasn't like a sister to him, they were closer than that.

And then that got his brain really going.

If Katherine Jackson wasn't like a sister to him… then what the hell was she?

Before he could process any more thoughts, an abrupt ringing cut through the air.

Kate's lips spread into a bright smile and she hopped to her feet. "Justin's on the phone… I'll be right back."

Randy rolled his eyes and stuffed a forkful of pasta into his mouth as she bounced from the room.

"Hello there, you…" she trailed off happily as her voice faded upon her ascent of the stairs.

The wrestler's blue eyes narrowed at his friend. "You look like someone just died."

"Hmm?" John looked over at Randy across the table.

"You're fucking ridiculous," he laughed and shook his head.

"ME?" he retorted in shock. "You're the one who bought his wife a 30,000 dollar watch that she wears while washing the dishes… and I'm the one who is ridiculous?"

Randy's tone took on that of a warning sign. "Don't start with me, Cena. You won't like where this conversation ends."

"YOU started with ME, Orton. And we're going to finish this conversation once and for all, God dammit."

The younger man clicked his tongue at John. "It's not smart to take the Lord's name in vain, John."

This time, it was John's turn to roll his eyes. "You're fucking with me, right?"

"Only because it's so easy."

"You're such a dick sometimes," John stated with a shake of his head. "Instead of ridiculing me, why don't you ask what's wrong with me?"

Randy finished chewing what was in his mouth and washed it down with a few sips of water." Because I know exactly what's wrong with you."

"Oh really, Sophocles?" the Massachusetts native asked, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. "Enlighten me."

"Okay," the blue-eyed, third generation wrestler replied with a shrug. "You're in love with Kate."

Just then, the young woman in question glided back into the room with a smile. "Whatcha talking about?"

_Shit._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Okay, I know I suck for not updating in forever, but I really had to focus on getting She's a Rebel III: Cupid's Chokehold to where it needed to be and in all honesty, I was fresh out of ideas for this story.**

**But now, I'm back in action. AND you can follow me on Twitter to see how my stories/updates are progressing! There might even be a quick preview every now and name on there is the same as my name on here: Jewelgirl04. There's a direct link in my profile. PLEASE NOTE: You must friend request me in order to follow my Twitter feed. It's more for privacy than anything.**

**I know this update was relatively short, but I feel like in trying to keep my updates long, I drag the chapter on sometimes. This is my way of remedying it. If it's long, it's because I was inspired to make it that way. If short, that's the way it's gotta be! Lol.**

**I appreciate: WinchesterAngel3389, rodi1021, miles89, CraftyTink529, theshakedown, mcena99, Fozzy-Floozy, ThatGirl54, dreamin'BIG, Meghan, AlexiaCalaway, Cena-Holic8, giftiebee, hardrhodescenafan1, Kayla Smiley, w8ing4rain, and Jordan.**

**On the other hand, I do NOT appreciate: Nasty messages about how I suck because I don't update within a week or so like I do for other stories. It's cyclical. It's the way I write. Contrary to popular belief apparently, I DO have a life. I'm a college student. And I'm trying to make Dean's list. If you don't like my update schedule, don't read my stories. I don't know what else to tell you.**

**On a side note… my birthday is in exactly 8 days, so there might be an update right around that time or a little thereafter. We shall see.**

**Love you guys! :-)**

**Danielle**

**PS: This chapter is in honor of the release of 12 Rounds. It opens in theaters in the US today, March 27th! Go see it ASAP!**


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